


Fresh Eyes

by miss_take



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Mild Language, Slight OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-06-09 07:10:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6894988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_take/pseuds/miss_take
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ca. 2012 from my Eternal Destiny account: Do you believe in the term "love at first sight"? Yeah, well, neither did InuYasha or Kagome until they experienced it firsthand. Accompany them on a three-part holiday journey to find happiness. Who knows? Maybe the New Year is all they need to change their views.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Christmas Day

**Author's Note:**

> Alright this is a totally mushy piece that I'm actually particularly proud of for how young and inexperienced I was when I wrote it! It's from my Eternal Destiny account (where most of my better work from way back when resides). Enjoy this multi-chapter fic!
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> Ms. Take

“Kaggie-chan, look at this!” the fiery-haired youngster shouted gleefully, running into the crowd of humans and demons alike with a candy cane in one tiny fist and an action figure of Captain America in the other. Kagome giggled as she stopped just shy of the motley group, shouldering her purse and fixing her cap atop her head.

“Kagome, we can’t thank you enough for watching Shippo today! It’s so difficult to find a sitter at the last minute, on Christmas Day, no less!” Mrs. Himura declared gratefully, adjusting her winter coat nervously. “Now, I’ll ask you once more: you’re _sure_ you don’t mind babysitting Shippo? It isn’t too late to back out if you have somewhere you need to be.” She smiled, the picture of happiness; she wouldn’t hold any resentment toward the girl if she refused to watch her son due to prior commitments. After all, it _was_ Christmas Day.

Mr. Himura nodded, putting an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “We’re already so thankful that you were able to watch him over Thanksgiving…we couldn’t ask another favor of you…”

Kagome shook her head, her onyx curls bouncing around her heart-shaped face. “It’s not a problem in the slightest, Himura-san! I’m not busy, and I don’t mind! I love babysitting Shippo; he’s such a good boy!” Her smile was brilliant, and the genuineness of it was the deciding factor for the Himuras.

“Alright…” Mrs. Himura began uncertainly, watching as her son ran up and hugged Kagome around the legs from behind. The adults chuckled as the little one’s words kept tumbling over each other as he tried to explain what he had seen through the toy store window. “…well, we’ll see you later tonight, then. And,” she continued as her husband turned to go, “thank you so much Kagome. Bless you, and have a very merry Christmas.” With that, the woman nodded and walked away, her husband’s arm still firmly wrapped around her shoulders as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Kagome sighed; love was such a beautiful thing, and the emotion was practically radiating from the two people she considered like parents to her. She felt bad that she was causing them upset; it wasn’t their fault they were invited to a Christmas party by Mr. Himura’s boss. It was a big opportunity for him to get a promotion, and he’d be able to provide more for Shippo with a bigger paycheck. Moreover, she wasn’t lying when she said it was no big deal; she did love watching over Shippo, and she would have stayed on the sofa all day watching old Christmas movies if she hadn’t been put to work.

 _Twenty-four years old and I’m still spending Christmas alone…_ she thought in irritation, and she could practically hear her mother scolding her for not having a husband by now.

Shaking off the upsetting thoughts, Kagome turned around in search of Shippo, but ran into a snafu when the only people still on the once-crowded sidewalk was her and an older couple sitting on a bench. She took a moment to admire the adorable pair before switching to ‘panic mode’ and running down the street in search of her charge. She tried not to think off all the terrible outcomes of this scenario, but each time she passed a shop and looked in through the window to find Shippo was not there, her heart sank deeper into the pit of her stomach. She had just about resorted to calling his name out in sheer desperation when she caught a wisp of red hair heading into a book store. Her heart racing in her chest, Kagome sprinted into the book shop in less than two seconds and scanned the place with worried blue eyes.

The first thing she noted was that the store was quite large. Books were shelved as far as the eye could see, and the decor was decidedly simple, with deep purple walls and a gray-carpeted floor. Tearing her gaze away from the scenery, Kagome noticed a small figure standing at the end of one of the lines of bookshelves. It was Shippo! The tension left her body as she made her way over to the young kitsune. It looked as if he was talking to someone, and as she got closer, she realized that there was someone on the other side of the shelf that was socializing with the little one.

Sirens went off in her head, telling her to be cautious as she approached. When she finally turned the corner and was in listening distance, she heard the faint chuckle of a man coming from the other side of the bookshelf. It wasn’t a full on laugh, but it was deep and gruff and made her stomach do a funny flip flop at the sound of it. Licking her lips, Kagome decided it was time to make her presence known.

“Shippo! There you are! You had me worried sick!” she cried, rushing over to the child and falling to her knees. Shippo jumped at the sound of her voice; then his emerald eyes widened in surprise as Kagome wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her chest. Snapping out of his shock, he grabbed handfuls of her winter coat and burrowed into her embrace.

“Kagome! I…I got lost! I didn’t know where you were! I was so alone!” the little one replied, nuzzling her neck affectionately and shaking with restrained emotion. “I’m sorry, Kaggie-chan! I’m sorry I was bad and didn’t stay with you! Please, don’t be angry with me!”

Kagome immediately pulled away from the embrace, wiping away the small demon’s tears with her sleeve and kissing him on the forehead. “I’m not angry with you, Shippo. I was just worried; don’t ever leave my side again, okay?” He nodded, and she smiled, brushing her fingers through his red hair. The sound of a throat clearing snapped her out of her mother-like chiding, and she turned to address the person Shippo had been talking to earlier. “I’m sorry; I completely forgot to…” she trailed off as she got a good look at the man in front of her, leaning against a desk.

He was watching her intensely with beautiful, golden eyes that shown with flecks of amber, his arms crossed over his chest. His legs were crossed as he leaned back further against the desk, his silver hair sweeping over his shoulder at the movement. His tan skin glowed with perfection under the artificial lighting of the store, and he flashed two rows of pearly-white teeth as he smirked at her. She could have sworn she saw a pair of sharp, pointed canines before he closed his mouth again, but she couldn’t be sure…

Movement atop his head distracted her, and she glanced up to find two triangular dog ears twitching on top of his head. So shocked was she that she blurted out the first thing that came to mind: “You’re a dog demon!”

The demon chuckled, cocking his head to the side and flashing another smirk—yes, those definitely were fangs she had seen—as she blushed at what she had said. “Half-demon, actually, but yes. And you are…?” he asked, a questioning look in his hypnotizing eyes as she shifted under his gaze.

“O-Oh! Right…m-my name is Higurashi Kagome,” she stated nervously, bowing jerkily at him as she stood. He chuckled again, and an involuntary shiver ran down Kagome’s spine.

“Well, Higurashi, it’s nice to meet you,” he  
extended his hand, and Kagome wasn’t all that surprised to find sharp talons on the ends of his fingers, “…it’s just a handshake…I’m not going to hurt you or anything.” His voice lacked any anger or upset, yet she felt she had to explain herself nevertheless.

“Oh, no! No…I wasn’t afraid or anything…I was just…curious, is all.” She smiled, her apprehension lessening a bit as he returned her gesture. Before she could embarrass herself any further, she reached out and shook his hand, feeling electricity shoot through the appendage and straight to her stomach in the manifestation of butterflies as his warm digits encircled hers. For a brief moment, they looked at each other, sapphire melting into brilliant gold. Then, the moment ended as Shippo tugged on Kagome’s pant leg with a tiny hand and sent her a questioning look. Shaking her head, Kagome pulled her hand away from the handsome stranger’s and took a moment to compose herself. After a few more seconds of silence, she looked back up into the half-demon’s eyes with renewed confidence. “Pardon me, but I didn’t catch your name.”

He blinked a few times before smiling and replying, “Takahashi InuYasha,” with a bow of his own. As he straightened up to his full height, Kagome took note of how tall he actually was; he had to be at least six feet tall, if not, more! It made her feel rather on the short side, even though her modest height of five feet four inches was hardly considered short.

Clearing her throat, she folded her arms over her chest—much like his stance—and glared up at him. “Well, Mr. Takahashi, I have quite a bone to pick with you! You don’t just waltz up to young children and start chewing the proverbial fat with them! That can be considered child molestation! You’re lucky I don’t press charges!”

A fine, silver eyebrow rose up beneath his unruly bangs at her tone. “First of all, it’s InuYasha,” he corrected, hating the words “Mr. Takahashi” spoken from her pink, rose petal lips, “and second, I can do whatever the hell I want when a young child waltzes into a book store that I happen to own _unaccompanied by an adult_.” He glared pointedly at her, more than letting her know that she was to blame for the miscommunication. The last part of his statement felt like a slap to the face, and it knocked her down a few pegs when she realized that he was right; she didn’t have the right to castigate him for something that was entirely her fault. She felt stupid and guilty. Turning her face toward the ground in embarrassment, she shuffled her feet nervously, ignoring the insistent tugging at her trouser leg that signified Shippo’s concern. It wasn’t until a nimble, clawed finger hooked under her chin and tipped her face up that she noticed this ‘InuYasha’ character had moved closer to her, his cinnamon breath fanning out across her face. “I’m sorry if I offended you, but, in truth, you offended me with the whole ‘child molestation’ thing. I would never dream of harming a child.

“As for—how did you put it?—‘chewing the proverbial fat’? Well, I was stacking books and taking inventory when I noticed the little guy. He was standing behind me with a scared look on his face—”

“I wasn’t scared!” Shippo protested, pouting cutely.

Kagome shook her head. “Shippo, hush! Don’t interrupt Mr. Takahashi…”

InuYasha sighed. “I said to call me InuYasha.” At her blush, he continued, “Anyways, I was just about to ask him where his mother was when there you were, answering my unasked question."

“Oh…well...um...I’m not his mother…” Kagome began uncomfortably, not sure how much she should tell this stranger. As she looked into his honey eyes, she noticed a small flicker of hope flit through the golden depths, but as quickly as she had seen it, it disappeared.

“Really? Well, I guess it makes sense. After all, you can’t be more than…twenty-four?” She nodded, a bit ruefully if he was reading her correctly, and he chuckled. “I take it you were hoping to have children by now?” Again, her head bobbed up and down, her expression akin to that of pure animosity. “And—just a random guess—your mother is riding your case about it?” This time, she glared at him; he sounded as if he was about to burst out laughing. Instead of the explosion of hysterics she had been expecting, however, he simply nodded his head sagely. “I am in complete understanding with you…I’m only twenty-six, yet my mother insists that I find a good woman to settle down with and marry her and have ten kids and blah blah blah…I normally stop listening after that point.” To his utter shock, Kagome giggled and nodded her head.

“I’m the same way…as soon as my mom starts talking about finding myself a husband and giving her grandchildren I’ve already zoned out or left the room entirely.” He chuckled softly, and, she had to admit, the sound of his laughter affected her in ways she couldn’t quite describe. She felt compelled to carry on a conversation with this man…demon…whatever; she just wanted to bask in his presence for a while longer. He was charming, eloquent, and quite sexy, if she did say so herself. And those goddamn dog ears were just too freaking adorable!

Catching her staring at his ears, InuYasha shook his head, muttering something about silly wenches before tilting his head in her direction. At the way her scent clouded with the slightest of confusion, he felt he should elaborate. “I can tell by your scent and the way that you won’t stop looking at my ears that you want to touch them, so go ahead. I don’t mind.” That was a blatant lie. He absolutely abhorred it when people took it upon themselves to grope his ears. And, yes, he used the word grope, because most people didn’t favor the poor, abused appendages with light, gentle caresses. However, despite his deep hatred of it, he found he rather wanted this beautiful creature to touch his ears, to rub them between her delicate fingers, to maybe kiss them, lick them, suck them…

 _Whoa, boy! Snap on the electric collar! You just met the girl!_ he reprimanded, trying to clear his head of the nasty thoughts. Though, try as he might, the vivid images of the gorgeous young woman stripped naked, draped over his body, riding him to completion while fondling his sensitive ears played unbidden throughout his mind, making a certain body part start to rise to the occasion. _Oh, hell no…I’m not going to stand here with a boner thinking dirty things about a woman I just met…I have more self-control than that._ Taking a few deep breaths, he managed to get his libido under control just as Kagome reached up and tentatively grasped one fuzzy ear between her pointer finger and thumb. With great care, she gently ran her fingers from the pointed tip to the fleshy base, scratching lightly in experimentation. She received a soft growl of pleasure for her efforts, giving her the confidence boost to reach up and softly stroke the other ear. She giggled softly as the appendages twitched against her hand, enjoying the way his eyes glazed and fell to half-mast.

InuYasha, for his part, was not in a good place. On the one hand, he wanted her to keep stroking his ears; they hadn’t gotten this much positive attention in years. On the other hand, if she didn’t stop, he’d end up doing something he’d regret. _Well…I wouldn’t be opposed to making her cum all over my checkout counter, but I don’t think she’d like that very much…_ Trying to shake away the hentai thoughts was becoming a futile task; this woman was just too damn…perfect! How could he not think about her like that? For starters, she was absolutely gorgeous!

Her hair was as black as ink, falling down to her waist in luscious waves; it could barely be contained by the adorable sock monkey hat that adorned her head. Her cerulean eyes sparkled with emotion, something that was hard to come by nowadays with most of the women he had encountered. She had skin that was smooth and looked soft to the touch, and it was a beautiful cream color with zero blemishes. Discreetly moving his gaze down further, he took note with a small smirk that she was of the curvy body type; just how he liked his women. It baffled him that so many females nowadays strived for a body that made them look like a walking lollipop, or the females that injected so much silicon into their breasts and bottoms that one could barely tell where one ended and the other began. He liked his women curvy and natural, and—he could possibly blame this on his animal instincts—he had the strangest obsession with and great interest in hips. They let him know that the woman could handle a little roughhousing in the bedroom and bear his pups with ease. And, looking at the voluptuous hips hidden behind her classy winter coat, InuYasha had to admit that he was definitely appreciative of Kagome’s assets.

Snapping back to reality as he felt the warm digits once wrapped around his ears pull away, he stood straight again and looked down upon the blushing visage of the lovely young woman. Taking a subtle whiff to parse her scent for clues as to why she was now resembling a ripe tomato, he was a tad surprised to discover the slightest hint of arousal. Oh, wow…as if her delicious scent of water lilies and sandalwood wasn’t driving him crazy enough!

Deciding it was time to put some distance between the two of them before he threw all common sense to hell and pressed into her against the checkout counter, he finally took notice of Shippo standing there awkwardly. “And…and what’s your name, again?” he asked, having to clear his throat as his voice sounded rather gruff; such was the effect of Kagome’s arousal. He also found that his question was quite pointless; he already knew the kitsune’s name. Kagome had shouted it earlier.

“My name’s Shippo,” the red-head answered, happy to be receiving some acknowledgement now.

InuYasha let loose a fang-filled smirk; the pup didn’t look any older than seven, and, by his scent, InuYasha could tell he was mighty protective of Kagome. He needed to get on good terms with the kid if he wanted any chance of seeing Kagome naked. _Okay…I’ve officially entered pervert mode…_

Not allowing himself the chance to bask in the scent of Kagome’s spiked arousal (she must really like it when he showed his fangs), he stepped around the duo and headed for the checkout counter. Jumping over the counter rather than lifting the panel like most people would do, he reached into a box filled to the brim with lollipops and pulled out a cherry flavored one. Leaping over the counter once more, he landed directly in front of Kagome, enjoying the blush creeping across her face. “Here, Shippo. It’s my way of apologizing for earlier. I’m sorry I said you were scared.” Kneeling down to the youngster’s height, he handed him the sucker. Shippo’s eyes widened before he leaped up and gave the half-demon a hug.

“Thanks, Inu-kun! I love cherry!” He climbed out of the friendly embrace and took the lollipop from InuYasha. Unwrapping it, he stuck it in his mouth and made a sound of delight. His emerald eyes glittered with childish satisfaction as he stared at InuYasha with admiration. “And the way you jumped over that counter was awesome! How can you do that? I’m a demon, so maybe I can do it…will you teach me how to do it?” he continued to babble, not even caring that InuYasha wasn’t listening anymore; he was instead looking up at Kagome, watching as she licked her lips and tilted her head slightly. He chuckled softly; her innocence was definitely quite attractive.

“Would you like a lollipop as well? Or, perhaps, a candy cane? I have a ton of those.” He smiled, walking over to the counter and this time reaching over it to pluck a candy cane from underneath. The whole time, Kagome watched him silently. While he thought that she was looking at him like that in hopes of receiving a tasty treat herself, her thoughts were along…dirtier lines. When he gave Shippo the lollipop and allowed him to give him a hug, Kagome couldn’t help but be impressed with the man. Normally, a man with his gorgeous appearance and amazing physique wouldn’t care less about a little runt who wandered into his store. InuYasha was different. He cared enough to acknowledge the lost pup, and now he was apologizing for something he didn’t need to be apologizing for. In Kagome’s mind, there was nothing more attractive than a man who was good with kids.

This aroused another thought: he would be a great father one day. He would probably be the type of dad who would protect his daughter with his life, and she’d be his little princess. Or, he’d be the type of dad his son would look up to and want to be like when he grew up, and he would play football with him and teach him all there is to know about being of demon descent. Oh, and what a magnificent husband he would be. He’d shower her with kisses, cuddle with her by the fireside during the winter, and make sweet, sweet love to her during the nighttime while the kids were asleep…

Her thoughts came to a crashing halt as she finally realized what she had been thinking about. _Oh my…Kami, I just met the guy! I’ve hardly known him for ten minutes, and I’m already thinking about our sex life after we’ve had children!_ Though, as unconventional and just downright wrong as her thoughts seemed, she just couldn’t clear her mind of the scene playing on a loop. Him, thrusting into her quivering body…his claws softly scraping down her sides…his long, silver hair spilling over his shoulders and brushing against her breasts, making her nipples peak…his fangs nibbling at her neck, leaving his mark on her skin and letting the world know that she belonged to him…bringing her to orgasm after orgasm after orgasm...

“Miss Higurashi?”

InuYasha’s voice snapped her out of her sweaty fantasy, and she looked up to find him gazing at her quizzically, though there was a slight smirk kicking up one corner of his perfect mouth, and Kagome could place the emotion as only that of male pride. _Crap…he’s a dog…he can…he can **smell** me…_

Trying to keep the blush from her face, she straightened a bit and snatched the proffered candy cane from his outstretched palm. “It’s Kagome…” she stated shortly, her voice a tad raspy with lust. The smirk on his face didn’t waver; in fact, she grumpily noted, it broadened just a tad.

InuYasha wanted to laugh out loud; Kagome was pouting, and it was possibly the most adorable thing he had ever seen. Controlling the urge to reach down and kiss those luscious lips, he stepped back a few paces and leaned against the checkout counter. “So…what’s a beautiful young woman such as yourself doing babysitting on this wonderful Christmas day?” He didn’t miss the way her face flushed red at him calling her ‘beautiful’, but he didn’t comment on it or make any outward sign of noticing. Instead, he simply crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her reply.

Kagome cleared her throat as she struggled to get the wrapper off of her candy cane. “I don’t do much for Christmas…I mean, I visit my family in the evening, but I normally just spend the day…by myself…” Good God, she sounded like a loser. Thankfully, InuYasha didn’t seem to notice how sorry her statement was. He simply nodded and made a confirming sort of grunt in the back of his throat. _Lord Almighty, that was sexy…_

“I’m the same way…as you can tell, I don’t do much for Christmas, either. If I hadn’t had to open shop today, I would be home watching old Christmas movies and drinking hot cocoa.” He shrugged, and the nonchalant way in which he spoke made the activity sound less lonesome to Kagome. In fact, the conversation almost seemed comfortable now.

“Me too!” she blurted, then immediately averted her gaze from his intense amber one and went back to opening her candy cane. Once she finally managed to get it unwrapped, she looked back up at him, a tad bit shyly. “Why…why are you working today?”

He watched as she unpeeled the wrapper and stuck the sweet treat into her mouth, sucking lightly and moaning softly in childish pleasure. Shifting to ease the tension suddenly mounting in his loins, he cleared his throat before speaking. “One of my employees fell ill today, and since she was the only one scheduled to work today and most of my other employees are away for the holidays, I filled in. It wasn’t that big of a deal, and she’ll still get paid her holiday bonus, just like everyone else…”

“That’s so admirable…I’m sure she’s very grateful to have such a caring boss…” Kagome stated absently, pulling her candy cane out of her mouth and licking up the side, completely unaware of how it was affecting the hanyou standing in front of her.

 _That’s it, baby…suck it…show me how good you are with your mouth…holy hell, why did I give her that candy cane?!_ InuYasha was losing his mind as she stuck the candy back into her mouth and sucked harder than before, her rosy cheeks hollowing and a slurping sound emitting from her puckered lips. _Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!_

“Ahem…yeah, well, it’s not like I was doing anything today, anyways, so it didn’t really matter to me…” He took in a deep breath through his mouth, trying not to inhale her sweet scent; the sucking was bad enough, but one whiff of her and he would be forced to swing her over his shoulder and shower her in kisses.

Luck was on his side, because at the precise moment he was prepared to jump her, Shippo’s voice rang out through the empty store. “Hey, Kaggie-chan! Look at the book I found!” Both Kagome and InuYasha jumped; neither of them had noticed that the little one had wandered off.

Kagome turned around to find him standing several shelves away, holding up what looked to be a copy of _Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs_. She smiled brightly and turned back to InuYasha. “How much for the book?”

Snapping out of his lust-induced stupor, he shook his head and stood up straight. “Take it. Think of it as a Christmas present from a complete and total stranger.” He sent a fang-filled smile her way, and a subtle shiver ran down her spine.

“Thank you, InuYasha…and,” she began, stepping closer to him and leaning up on her tip-toes to kiss him on the cheek, “you’re not a stranger. I feel…comfortable around you…” She wasn’t particularly sure how to put her feelings into words, so she settled for that as she turned and walked toward Shippo, grabbing his hand and heading for the exit.

“Kagome, wait!” InuYasha called, causing Kagome to stop in her tracks and turn back to him, hope glimmering in her baby blues. After the initial shock of having Kagome’s wonderful lips pressed to his cheek wore off, he just barely registered the fact that she was walking out the door before calling her name. _Dammit…why did I do that?_ He scrounged for something—anything!—to say, but he came up blank. He noticed the pen and pad of paper sitting on the counter and, without so much as a second thought, ripped off a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. Walking up to Kagome, he slid the folded note into her hand. “Call me,” he murmured before pecking her lightly on the lips.

It took Kagome a few seconds to recover, and by the time she reined control of her scattered emotions, Shippo was pulling her out the door. She watched InuYasha through the glass as he smirked at her, and then she could no longer see him. Sighing, she massaged the bridge of her nose as she opened the note and read its contents. _“In case you’re feeling lonely on Christmas: 484-755-1985”._

Despite herself, Kagome smiled. _I just might take you up on that offer, InuYasha…_ she thought, her smile widening as she took Shippo’s hand and walked back to her apartment.

***

“Kagome! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” Mrs. Higurashi gushed as her daughter walked in through the front door. The older woman embraced Kagome, and she had to admit: she was happy to be home.

“Hi, Mama. I’m sorry I’m late…Shippo’s parents couldn’t make it back from their party by 3…”

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine, dear! I’m just happy you’re here!” She hugged her again before pulling away and looking seriously at her daughter. “That poor Mr. Himura works too hard! He’ll end up working himself to the grave! No matter, at least he has someone like you to watch after Shippo.” Her smile was infectious, and Kagome returned it full force.

Suddenly, she was pelted over the back of her head with something cold and wet. “Good to see you, Sis!” her seventeen-year-old brother, Souta, shouted, laughing all the way out the open door.

“Souta! You little brat! I’m gonna kill you!”

“Souta! I told you before: no throwing snowballs in the house!”

“Awe, but Mama…”

“That’s quite enough!” Grandpa Higurashi shouted, emerging from the living room with his cane in one hand and flowers in his other hand. “Where’s my little Kagome? I want a hug!”

Kagome smiled despite the cold liquid dripping down her back. “Grandpa!” she shouted, charging at the old man and engulfing him in a warm embrace. He returned it as much as he could with his dwindling strength, and then he pulled away and handed her the flowers. “Oh, Grandpa…they’re beautiful! You shouldn’t have…”

“Nonsense! My little girl only comes home on holidays, so I damn well should have!”

“Father! Watch your language!” Mrs. Higurashi admonished, but the old geezer wasn’t listening; he just kept rambling.

“There’s an interesting story that goes with those flowers. Many years ago, a great, powerful demon—”

“Alright, that’s enough. It’s time for supper,” Mrs. Higurashi interrupted, much to Grandpa Higurashi’s chagrin. Kagome giggled as the old man grumped and stalked away then turned her attention back to her mother.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Mama?”

“No, dear. Just call Souta in and we’ll eat."

“Yes, Mama.”

***

“So, Kagome…” Mrs. Higurashi began, and Kagome cringed. That was her mother’s ‘marriage-talk’ voice, “…we haven’t seen you in quite a while…not since Thanksgiving, and with all of the family over, we didn’t have time to talk…what have you been up to?”

Kagome was no idiot; she knew that ‘what have you been up to?’ was mom-talk for ‘have you found a husband yet?’ Sighing in resignation, she was about to tell her mother the same old thing she always told her: _no, Mother, I’m not seeing anyone. Nothing has changed since I last saw you along the lines of my social life._ Then, her mother would sigh, and her face would drop. “Oh, that’s too bad,” she’d say, and then she’d go off suggesting a suitable mate for Kagome, “Oh, I met the sweetest man at the grocery store yesterday…there’s this really cute young man working at my gym…how about Hojo? You two were such a cute couple back in high school!” 

Kagome winced; no…she didn’t think she could handle another one of her mother’s setups...how would she evade them this time?

The folded up paper in her pocket caught her attention. _InuYasha…_

Could she do that to him? Could she do that to her mother? Could she do that to herself? She wanted to think more into it, but her mother was staring at her right now rather expectantly, waiting for an answer. _Oh well…I hope I don’t go to hell for this…_

“Actually, Mama…” she began nervously, fiddling with the napkin on her lap, “…I’m…I’m engaged…”

The whole room went silent. Her brother dropped the fork full of food he had poised to shovel into his mouth, and it landed on the table with a loud CLANG! Her grandfather all of a sudden looked quite pale, and a tick developed on his balding forehead. Her mother’s reaction was by far the most priceless, though. Her eyes widened to huge proportions, her mouth hanging open, as if her jaw simply refused to work. Suddenly, her right eye started twitching, and Kagome knew that she was in for it now. She braced herself for the scolding she knew she was going to receive at any moment.

“You’re…engaged?” Mrs. Higurashi mumbled, her voice barely audible. Slowly and cautiously, Kagome nodded. Silence reigned for a few more minutes, and then, finally, her mother spoke again. “When did this happen?” she asked calmly, her features returning to the way they were before Kagome dropped the nuke on them.

Clearing her throat, Kagome answered the only plausible time she could think of: “A little after Halloween…” She hadn’t seen much of her family after Halloween or during Thanksgiving due to how busy that time of the year tended to be, so at least it made sense.

Mrs. Higurashi nodded. “Ah…well then…” and, just as Kagome thought she was out of harm’s way, her mother exploded on her. “What on EARTH were you thinking?! Why didn’t you at least call us?! I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone! How could you do this without telling me?!” By this time, she was standing, her face tinted red as she gazed down at her daughter with hundreds of questions swimming through her fudge-colored eyes. However, she decidedly didn’t look angry.

“I’m…I’m sorry, Mama…I wanted to tell you; I wanted to call you, but I thought it’d be better to break it to you in person…and, like you said, I didn’t really have a chance to tell you during our Thanksgiving party…so…here I am…” She felt bad; obviously, she had hurt her mother by not telling her about her ‘engagement’.

Thankfully, this apology seemed to placate Mrs. Higurashi, for she nodded and smoothed a hand through her hair, sitting back down. “What’s his name, Kagome?”

“InuYasha Takahashi…he’s the owner of a bookstore in the city…” She didn’t dare tell her mother the name of the bookstore; she didn’t need the woman going down there and scaring the poor, unsuspecting man half to death. “He’s…he’s an inu-hanyou, Mama, but he’s very friendly…Shippo likes him a lot—”

“He’s a demon?” Grandpa Higurashi spoke up, and Kagome mentally smacked herself in the forehead. _Oh great…here we go…_ “Kagome, demons are dangerous and cursed, no matter how friendly they are! I’ll go down there myself and purify the son of a bitch for—”

“Father!”

“Grandpa, please!” Kagome shouted, standing and looking with pleading eyes at her grandfather. “InuYasha is a great man, and he’s so nice…and handsome!” she threw in at the last second, knowing that would tip the scales with her mother.

She was right, for the older woman reached out a hand to shush Grandpa Higurashi’s next statement, looking at her daughter curiously. “Handsome, you say? Tell me, Kagome…what is he like?”

Kagome thought she saw a glint of hentai in her mother’s eyes, but ditched the answer her mother was seeking in place of a more innocent one. “He’s got long, silver hair, beautiful, golden eyes that are so expressive…it’s so hard to find that in men today…oh, and he’s well built! Just like Papa was! And he’s got these adorable dog ears on top of his head that twitch and swivel and make him look so cute…”

“And I’m sure they’re a great match with the fangs and claws…” her grandfather added, and Kagome glared at him.

“Yes, they are. He’s truly an ethereal being, if I may be so blunt as to say so…Mama, you’d love him…”

Mrs. Higurashi nodded her head slowly, and Kagome could see the wheels spinning in her head before she even spoke. Okay…she was in deep shit now…

“Kagome…I want to meet him…” Kagome winced when her mother spoke those words, and you’d better believe Mama Higurashi noticed. “Oh, don’t give me that look! You’ve been engaged for almost two months and I haven’t even heard of the guy before! You owe me this!” She crossed her arms over her chest, giving Kagome her best ‘mom look’. And, just like that, her daughter folded like a bad poker player.

“O…Okay, Mama…I’ll talk to him, and you can meet him sometime before the wedding…”

“Nonsense! I will meet him this Friday at our annual New Year’s Eve party!” Mrs. Higurashi exclaimed without a hint of leniency, and Kagome was hard pressed to say no.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she sighed and nodded, rubbing her temples with her index fingers to relieve the inevitable headache. “Alright…I’ll bring him over Friday…” _What have I done?_

The room was thrust into silence once more as the excitement wore down. Kagome actually thought she’d be able to finish dinner without any more talk of InuYasha. Boy was she ever wrong.

“So, Kagome…” Souta began, an evil glint in his hazel eyes, “…he’s a dog demon, huh? Oh, I’m sure you’ll have cute, little dog-eared kids soon…”

And that set her mother off again.

***

After the latter half of dinner was finished—which was spent trying to strangle Souta with her mind—Kagome helped her mother with the dishes. Thankfully, the older woman didn’t pester her about InuYasha any further, and for that, she was grateful.

Now she was sitting in a taxi on her way home, fiddling with the note in her hands. _Should I call him? Oh, God, what have I done? He’s going to run for the hills when I tell him…_ How was she going to tell him? She couldn’t just call him up and say, “Hey! So, you’ll never guess what I told my mom tonight…I told her that we’re engaged! Yeah, so, she wants to meet you on New Year’s Eve. Don’t forget to go out and buy a ring, because she wants physical proof of our love! Oh, and wear something nice!” No, he’d think she was absolutely insane! She’d have to ease him into it.

She paid the cab driver and all but sprinted up to her third story apartment room, the entire time spent thinking of what she was going to say to him. Breathing in deeply, she closed and locked the door behind her and turned on the lights. Slipping out of her jacket and discarding her fingerless gloves and hat on the coffee table, she grabbed her cellphone out of her purse and unlocked the screen. Sighing in resignation, she decided it was best to just rip off the Band-Aid. She dialed in his number and held her breath as the phone rang.

After three rings she was ready to call it quits and just hang up when a voice greeted her on the other end. “Hello, InuYasha Takahashi speaking.”

Her heart fluttered in her ribcage at the sound of his deep, roguish voice. She didn’t even give herself time to ponder the strange reaction as she opened her mouth and words flew out. “Hi, InuYasha! It’s Kagome Higurashi, the girl from your bookstore. You gave me your number and I decided that I am kind of lonely right now andIcouldreallyuseyourcompanybecauseIhavetotellyousomethingimportant—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Kagome! Settle down! I can’t understand a word you’re saying! Take it slower…” She could just imagine his expression right now; his amber eyes were wide with shock, his ears pinning to his head and his mouth drawn downward slightly in concentration. She really needed to see him.

“Um…sorry…” For a moment, she scrounged for words. Just a second ago she had had diarrhea of the mouth, and now she couldn’t even get out a single sentence. “…I…uh…I need to see you…I n-need to talk to you about something…it’s…um…it’s kind of important…”

There was silence on the other end of the line for what felt like a small eternity before he finally spoke again. “Okay…where do you want to meet?” She opened and closed her mouth, not having expected him to comply with her. After a few more minutes of failed speech, he spoke up again. “Kagome? Are you alright? Do you want me to come over? Kagome, talk to me!”

The slight worry that crept into his tone snapped her out of her shock-induced speechlessness. “I’m fine! Meet me at Central Park in ten minutes!” and she hung up. She couldn’t stay on the line any longer with him for fear of breaking into tears. _I am truly an idiot…_


	2. Settling

InuYasha raised a fine silver eyebrow at Kagome. 

He had rushed out of his house, barely paying attention as he slipped on a red fleece jacket and grabbed the keys to his Porsche. He made it to the park in less than ten minutes, and there she was, sitting on a bench, staring at the setting sun. He had walked up beside her, sat next to her, and waited for her to speak. It took a while, but she finally turned to look at him, her facial expression sad and slightly depressed.

“Kagome, what’s wrong?” he had asked, fearing the worst by the look on her face.

She sighed and looked to be restraining tears. “InuYasha, I…I…well, do you remember when you were telling me about your mom being on your case about marriage, just like mine?” He nodded slowly, not at all sure of the outcome of this scenario. “Well, I…I sort of told my mother this evening…you see, she was backing me into a corner about why I’m not married and…well, um…”

“Kagome, just spit it out! What happened?”

“I told my mother we were engaged!” she blurted quickly, then slapped a hand over her mouth as her face exploded in a blush.

And now, here they were, sitting in silence, him staring disbelievingly at her while she fiddled with the hem of her jacket. Finally, after a solid five minutes of zero conversation, InuYasha reached over and cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “You told your mother that…we’re engaged?” he repeated, wanting to make sure he heard her correctly. She nodded and grimaced, as if in pain at the mere mention of it. “Interesting…I thought that I’d just get a date out of our meeting today, but now I’ve got a fiancé…” he said absently, his tone neutral as he looked into her eyes questioningly. “What was going through your mind when you made such a declaration?”

She shrugged, pulling away from his hand and turning back to the sunset. “I don’t know…everyone was waiting expectantly for me to answer, and I didn’t really have time to think about the repercussions…I just wanted my mom to leave me alone…”

“The truth works most of the time…” he interjected, but he didn’t sound the least bit condescending or upset; he was still speaking with a decidedly neutral tone. Kagome sighed, but didn’t say anything as the last rays of sun disappeared behind the hilly countryside a ways past the city. InuYasha spoke up after another moment of uncomfortable silence. “Listen, I’m not angry or upset, if that’s what you’re afraid of. A bit confused? Hell yeah, but not upset.” That caused Kagome to crack a smile, much to his relief. She finally turned to look at him.

“What on Earth are we going to do? My mom wants to meet you this Friday at our big New Year’s Eve party…” They both looked at each other searchingly for a few moments, Kagome’s face drawn into a worried, panicked expression.

InuYasha turned his head up to watch as stars lazily dotted the darkening sky, deep in thought. The situation should have been more serious to him than it was; a woman he had just met told her mother they were engaged, for Heaven’s sake! However, all he could think about at the moment was that he wanted to go through with this. He wanted to give Kagome a ring and be her fiancé, if only for pretend. He wanted to accompany her to her big New Year’s Eve party on Friday and tell her entire family that they were engaged. He wanted to spend the rest of that night making love to her by the fireside and listening as she called out is name in pure, orgasmic bliss when she came hard for him, telling him she loved him as he emptied his essence into her. He wanted—

_Good grief…when did I become such a sap?_ he thought, shaking his head and trying to refocus. Fake engagements = bad. That was what he had learned from all of the very few TV sitcoms he had encountered with a similar situation as his. Fake engagements always ended with either a broken heart or an angry family, and he didn’t need that from his family or Kagome’s family. However, one look at her hopeful, pouting face and he was forced to reconsider. How could he turn her down, especially because, deep inside, there was a part of him that wanted this to be about more than just helping a friend out? _We’re not even friends…we’re barely acquaintances…_ which brought up another question…

“Why me?” he asked simply, causing Kagome to give him her attention again.

“Well, I…” she began, fidgeting under his expectant gaze. How to go about answering that question? Her mind was telling her to lie and say that his had been the first name to pop into her head, but her heart was telling her to speak the truth. In the end, she always followed her heart. “There was something about you…it felt as if I could trust you…as if I…as if I had known you for a long time rather than just meeting you today…for some strange reason, you were the one I thought of when my mother wanted to know about relationships…” She blushed, ducking her head and averting her gaze. Well, this was it; she blew it! Now he was probably going to just leave her there to wallow in her own self-pity, and she’d have to find another way to placate her family on New Year’s Eve. She was doomed!

It was for that statement above that she was so surprised when he spoke. “You know, I feel the same way? It’s—as you said—strange…however, not unpleasant…” He turned his head and looked at her, her face hidden behind her bangs and her hands clenching into fists by her sides. Sighing and shaking his head at her actions, he took her hands into his own and pulled them onto his lap. Kagome was so shocked that all she could do was look up at him and listen as he continued. “There are some conditions…”

“Wait…” she said after a slight pause, “…you’re agreeing to this? Are you crazy?!” _That’s great, Kagome. Call the guy crazy. He’ll really want to help you, now!_

Thankfully, InuYasha did no more than chuckle. “I’m not sure…I probably am a tad nuts, but not because of this.” He looked into her blue eyes, which were now swimming with emotion. “First, you’ll have to move in with me. If I’m going to learn all there is to learn about you in just a week, I’ll need all the time I can get.”

Kagome nodded. “Deal.”

“Good. You’ll also be sure to remain free this week,” she raised an eyebrow at him, “What? I think I’m entitled to some dates if we’re pretending to be engaged.”

She chuckled, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink. “I guess that’s fair.”

“It is. And finally: I want to introduce you to my parents, too. We don’t have to mention the engagement; it’ll just keep my mother off my back about getting a girlfriend. Are those fair terms?”

“Definitely. Now, I have some terms for you.” She smiled sweetly, and InuYasha found himself returning the gesture. “I’ll need a ring,” it was InuYasha’s turn to raise an eyebrow, “My mom will want physical proof of the engagement. I wasn’t wearing it this evening when I told her; thankfully, she didn’t notice. I don’t think we’ll be so lucky next time…”

InuYasha nodded. “Okay…a ring is doable…” He had just the perfect one…

“I’ll also be stopping by your bookstore periodically…you know, to understand how the business works in case any of my family members ask me any questions. I want to make sure there are no holes in our story…”

“Alright…I warn you, though; it gets quite boring there in the afternoons…” Suddenly, he gave her a rather lecherous smirk. “I’m sure we can find something to do to entertain ourselves while we’re all alone…”

Kagome blushed, but she giggled at his statement nonetheless. “That brings up another topic: children. Don’t bring it up to anyone at the party, or we’ll be forced to spend the rest of the time talking about it. And, trust me; you do not want to get my mother started on that subject…”

He cringed. “Is it really that bad?”

“Oh, yeah…she’ll keep going on and on about how she wants adorable, puppy-eared grandchildren, and how we should bring them over to visit as much as possible, and we should think about having four or five…”

Again, InuYasha cringed. “Is there anything else I should know along those lines?”

She nodded, her expression serious. “Don’t talk to my brother at all unless you’re in a group; if not, he’ll eventually corner you by asking how the sex is…”

“Well…is the sex good?” he asked, trying to look the picture of innocence. Kagome glared at him, and he widened his eyes and swiveled his ears in mock-naïveté. “What? I want to have my story straight.”

Kagome snarled slightly, but stopped when a positively evil thought occurred to her. A slow, sensual smile spread across her face, and she moved closer to InuYasha until she was practically sitting in his lap. “You’ll just have to wait and find out…” she murmured, leaning up to blow hot air on his ear. She thought she heard a whimper escape his throat, but pulled away with a blush before she ended up doing something she might regret. She was no virgin, but she still had morals.

InuYasha was feeling the same way at the moment, his hands clenching into fists and his claws piercing his flesh. Good God, that was hot! Having her warm breath fan out over his sensitive ears made his groin stir and libido spring to life. Thank God she pulled away; if she had stayed in that position—breasts just inches from his lips and hands on his shoulders—for even a millisecond longer, he would have been hard pressed to let her go.

Gulping back the instinctive growl that wanted to bubble forth, he moved a few inches away from her and pulled at the collar of his fleece, trying to ease the suddenly hot temperature that had been cast upon him. “So…is there anything else I should know?” he asked, hoping the change of topic would keep his mind out of the gutter.

Kagome jumped slightly; she had been so lost in her lusty thoughts of sliding into the sexy hanyou’s lap and riding him like a cowgirl that she had forgotten he was there. After his question registered, she toyed with the idea of teasing him by telling him he should know that she slept in the nude in favor of shaking her head; there was no need to fan the flames of desire any further. “No…I think that’s it.”

He nodded. “Very well…” he made to stand, brushing off his jeans and offering her his hand, “You’ll move into my house tomorrow morning. I’ll be over around nine to get you.” She nodded her head as well, pulling herself up using his hand as leverage. Unfortunately, she pulled too hard, and they both quickly found themselves chest-to-chest. Dual blushes graced their visages, and, as if to compliment the Hallmark moment, a breeze whooshed by, blowing their long locks out of their faces and causing silver and midnight-black to swirl around them. Kagome blinked a few times, her gaze locked with that of burnt honey. She licked her lips, unable to pull away as he leaned down, his hand grasping hers tighter than before.

InuYasha had no idea what he was doing; it was like he was on autopilot, and the only thing running through his mind was that he had to kiss this girl for fear of his head exploding. Just as their mouths were a hair’s breadth apart and he could feel her warm, spearmint breath on his lips, a car horn blasted not far from where they were standing, causing them both to jump about five feet apart. A frustrated growl resonated from deep within InuYasha’s chest as he ran his fingers through his bangs tiredly; he just couldn’t win! He was so damn close to kissing her, and now…

His ear twitched, picking up the faint sigh of mutual frustration coming from the woman standing in front of him. _Well…at least I know she wanted it, too…_ he reasoned, turning to look at her as she tugged at the collar of her coat.

“I guess…I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” he asked rather than stated, and he had to clear his throat to get rid of the husky tone that had settled over it.

Kagome nodded jerkily, her eyes still trained to his lips as if in a trance. “Uh-huh…I’ll, uh…yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow…” she stated absently, her mind still replaying the intense moment they had shared up until the car horn had stopped them. Dammit, did she ever want to kiss him…

“Good. Until tomorrow, then,” and he grabbed her hand, leaning over and placing a chaste kiss on it before disappearing like a ghost on the wind, leaving Kagome to wonder if she had imagined the whole encounter.

***

The next morning, Kagome awoke at seven to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on her window pane. Sighing, she heaved herself out of bed, took a quick shower, and set to packing up the few belongings she needed to move into InuYasha’s place.

_I can’t believe I’m doing this…_ she thought as she folded a couple of shirts and placed them into her overnight duffle. She hadn’t known this guy but twenty-four hours, and here she was, moving into his place and pretending she was his fiancé. _No, **he’s** pretending…I’m just the crazy psychopath who roped him into this whole fiasco…_ How did she manage to pull it off? Had she truly lost her mind?

Sighing, she opened her underwear drawer and her eyes widened. _Of all the shitty...I don’t have any decent, clean underwear to take over!_ As she searched through the drawer a few more times for good measure, she quickly found that the only clean panties she could salvage were either made of transparent lace or apparent dental floss. Moreover, her only clean pajamas were lingerie bought by friends from Victoria’s Secret as a gag birthday gift. _Dammit! And I don’t have any time to run down to the washroom to do a quick load! He’ll be here any—_ there was a knock at her door _–second!_ So, biting the proverbial bullet, Kagome begrudgingly packed the offending articles of clothing into her duffle then ran to answer her door. Without looking through the peephole, she unlocked the bolt and swung the door open to reveal a highly attractive, silver-haired half-demon leaning against her doorframe with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey,” he stated simply, and his deep voice did not fail in setting her blood on fire.

“‘Hey’ yourself. How’d you get past the receptionist’s desk?” she asked, moving aside to allow him into her modest abode.

He shrugged as he walked in, looking around at the simple decor of the one-room apartment. “She’s a young, pretty, teenage girl who’s obviously desperate for some attention…so, naturally, I charmed my way in.” He smirked as he turned, expecting the soft swat that was delivered to his arm.

“How dare you? That Shiori is a nice girl!” Kagome scolded, shaking her head and chuckling at his antics before moving back into her bedroom to collect her things.

“Is that all you’re bringing?” he asked, having followed her to her room and noticed the two boxes and duffle bag situated on her bed. “My condo isn’t that small…you’ll have your own bedroom, so you can bring more stuff if you want…”

“That won’t be necessary! I don’t need a lot of stuff, and I’ll only be staying there for a few days, a week max…” She waved her arms in front of herself defensively. “I’m perfectly fine with what I’ve packed. Now, let’s go.” She smiled, and InuYasha found himself involuntarily moving to help her gather her things without a fight. This wasn’t like him; he always argued when he felt he was right! Even if he wasn’t right, he would still force his point! But, with a simple smile, Kagome could make him forget why he was arguing in the first place.

_That’s not good…she’s not supposed to have this much of an effect on you…_ one part of him whispered, but he couldn’t hear it over the other part that was shouting for joy as Kagome leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Thanks…” she said, not elaborating any further as she grabbed her duffle bag in one hand and her purse in the other and left the room. She didn’t need to explain herself; he knew that she was not only thanking him for helping her move, but she was simply thanking him for helping her out.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered before snatching the two boxes into his arms and following her out of the apartment.

***

“InuYasha…this place is huge!” Kagome shouted, her voice echoing off of the tiled floors and large, white walls of his condo. While it was only one floor, what it lacked in height it made up for in width. Kagome decided she could easily fit at least three of her apartments—if not, more—into the living space alone, and she wasn’t even counting the bedrooms.

Said dog-eared half-demon chuckled as he held his door open with his foot to fit the two boxes in his arms through the opening. “It’s not that grandeur...” he said softly, walking around her and cocking his head. “Come on; I’ll show you to your room.” She smiled and nodded enthusiastically, following him through the long hallway to where the bedrooms were. There were three doors at the end of the hallway; the one in the middle was slightly ajar, and gave way to a bathroom. The other two, Kagome concluded, must have been bedrooms. InuYasha opened the one on the right. “Your sleeping quarters, m’lady,” he teased, putting down the boxes and bowing like a butler would to his mistress.

Kagome laughed. “Stop it, you cheese…ball…” her voice trailed off as she looked around the vast expanse of the room. It was, in a word, beautiful! The wall color was decidedly neutral, with a peachy undertone that Kagome positively adored. The floor was covered in a plush, shag carpet, and the curtains to the two windows on the far side of the wall were a gorgeous shade of cerulean. The bed had a canopy, and the gauzy material was the same color blue as the curtains with white beads speckled along the outer edge like pixie dust. The bed itself was rather on the large side, and the comforter was—in keeping with the motif of the room—blue with white trim. There was a large, white wood vanity set against the wall opposite the bed, and a dresser of matching color resting between the two windows. “InuYasha…” she breathed, walking into the room and looking around with awe, “…it’s…beautiful…” She spun around to face him, ignoring his ‘I-did-good’ grin and enveloping him in a grateful hug.

“Kagome…it’s…it’s just a room…” he stuttered, taken aback by the passionate display of affection.

She shook her head, burying her face in his neck and inhaling his spicy scent. “No…it’s more to me than that…” She clutched the fabric of his black sweater and looked up into his face with a small smile on her face and a minimal amount of tears in her eyes. “Have I told you thank you, yet?”

“About thirty times on the way over here…yes…” He chuckled at her blush, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers, “But I never get tired of saying you’re welcome…” Brushing a stray tear off of her cheek, he continued, “I’ll help you get through this; don’t worry, okay? Everything will be alright…”

Kagome laughed softly as she pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Where were you in high school when I almost gave my mother a heart attack ’cause I thought I was pregnant?”

Instead of laughing, his eyes widened. “Now, there’s a story you’re going to have to tell me…”

“All in good time, Inu…all in good time.” They both chuckled softly and stood there a while, Kagome cuddled against InuYasha’s chest quite comfortably. That is, they stayed like that until the shrill sound of a phone ringing interrupted their moment. Kagome jumped slightly, and InuYasha chuckled. “Shut up…shouldn’t you go answer that? It could be important…”

InuYasha groaned, knowing she was right, but not wanting to move. He would much rather hold Kagome in his arms than answer his stupid phone. But, he reasoned, it could be someone from the shop calling to tell him something urgent. Sighing in resignation, he reluctantly let go of her and stalked off into the kitchen to answer the call. Kagome watched after him until he disappeared around a corner, and then she went back to admiring her room.

Running over to the bed, she flopped onto it back-first and stared up at the canopy-covered ceiling. This was it…she was staying in InuYasha’s house for the next few days…she was officially his fake fiance… _Oh boy…_

She stayed lying down for a few more minutes before deciding that her clothes wouldn’t magically unpack themselves. Getting up, she set to work, throwing her duffle onto the bed and pulling out various articles of clothing that she then proceeded to pack neatly into the drawers of her bureau. She hummed a cheerful little tune while she worked, eventually getting around to the boxes filled with her personal belongings. As she was just finishing up putting her personal touches on the room, InuYasha came back in with a stressed out, rather tired expression on his face.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but I have to make some calls regarding the bookstore’s expansions that are taking place next month. I don’t want to hole myself up in my office all day and leave you by yourself, but it looks like that’s exactly what’s going to end up happening…I’m really sorry…”

“Don’t be! This is obviously important, and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon; we’ll have all week to be together. Right now, you should go make those calls,” she said, grabbing him by the arm and urging him toward the door, “I still have some things to unpack, so I probably won’t be out for a while, anyways! Go do your business thing, and then later…we’ll do our business thing…” She didn’t mean for it to sound seductive, but her voice dropped into a lower register when she said that last part. InuYasha’s right ear twitched at her tone, and he looked down at her with intense, golden eyes.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he grumbled, his voice also lowering a few octaves until it was nothing more than a growl. Then, he was gone, leaving Kagome alone in her room again. Sighing, she shook her head.

_I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off him for much longer…_

This arrangement had been made to keep her family from pestering her about settling down with someone, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t relieve some tension at the same time, did it? And that’s all it would be: relieving tension. There wouldn’t be any emotional ties or anything like that, because, like stated previously, this was an arrangement, and nothing more.

As she went back to organizing her belongings, she couldn’t help but wonder how much longer she’d be able to keep lying to herself.

***

“I _know_ , Miroku! If we want to have enough money for the addition, I’m going to have to fire some of my employees! … I understand what you’re saying, but _I’m_ saying I’m not going to do that! My staff has been loyal as hell to me, and I wouldn’t dream of cutting any one of them! … I can ask my dad for help; he said he would if I needed it. … Alright, well, you crunch the numbers and get back to me.” InuYasha ended the call, rubbing at the lids of his tired eyes with equally tired fingers. He had been on the phone for most of the day, not even stopping for lunch. Kagome had come in once or twice to see how he was doing and if he wanted her to make anything special for dinner. His heart was singing in his chest at the thought of eating her cooking, but he turned her offer down; she was a guest, and he didn’t want her to feel obligated to cook his meals for him. Once she had exited his office, he set to pulling up an email file on his laptop and sending a quick message to his contractor notifying him about the possible delay in production. Then, he made a few calls to his employees, letting them know that they didn’t have to worry about being laid off; all in all, the whole process took about an hour and a half.

Just as he was working up the courage to call his father to ask for the loan, his door creaked open again, and in walked Kagome, a tray filled with delicious-looking food in her arms. One whiff of the scrumptious items on the tray and InuYasha’s stomach growled; having neglected lunch, he was a tad bit hungry. “Kagome…” he began, putting his hand over the speaker of his phone as he was put on hold by his father’s secretary, “…I told you that you didn’t have to make me dinner…”

“Yes, but I wanted to. I’m the woman in this fake relationship, and I have the deciding vote! I voted to make you dinner; therefore, I win.” She smiled as she set the tray down on his desktop, and it was then that he noticed there were two plates set on the tray.

“Kags, you don’t have to eat in here with me. I hate leaving you alone to eat by yourself, but I’m not particularly fond of having to uproot you from the dining room, either…” he stopped talking when a bite-sized portion of pork was held to his lips by a pair of chopsticks.

“Ah-ah…stop worrying about me and open up; I made it special, just for you.” He was poised to argue, but one look into those brilliant, cerulean eyes and he was forced to reconsider.

Shaking his head at his weakness, he opened his mouth just wide enough for her to feed him the pork. He was slightly surprised to find the meat to be cooked rare; being the carnivorous canine that he was, he didn’t care much for well-done meat. If it were up to him, he’d just eat the sucker raw. He was touched that she took his needs into account when she made the food, and he was fully intent on repaying her for her kindness by means of a hard, passionate kiss that would knock her socks off. Just as he was prepared to carry out his task of retaliation, he heard his father answer on the other end of the line. _“Well hello, Inu, my boy! I haven’t heard from you in a while! How have you been?”_

“H-hi, Papa!” InuYasha greeted, snapping out of predator mode at the sound of his father’s voice. Kissing Kagome senseless would have to be put on hold until he finished business with his father. “I’m fine, thanks…listen, Father…you know I wouldn’t call you at work unless it was something really important…”

Kagome watched as InuYasha talked business with his father, completely intrigued by how serious he was despite a rather upbeat tone in his voice. _He must really love his father…_ she decided as she munched on a steamed carrot. He almost seemed so…innocent right now, on the phone with his dad. It made Kagome giggle softly to herself; to think that the big, strong, sexy, masculine, manly-man InuYasha Takahashi would act so childishly around the man who gave him life was both hysterical and endearing all at once. It showed her a different side of the half-demon that she was positive he rarely let other people see.

She listened as he cracked a joke with the man on the other end of the line, and she laughed with him; she didn’t understand what was so funny about a new employee looking for a copying machine, but she rather just enjoyed the happy look on InuYasha’s face. For some strange reason, it made her happy to see that he was happy.

Without her conscious self realizing it, she had stood and walked around his desk, standing in front of him with her head cocked to the side and a questioning look on her face. The only indicator that he noticed she was there was the fact that he opened his legs for her to stand in between. She watched as he continued to talk with his father, his smile never-wavering.

“Yeah, Papa…thank you so much for your help…I wouldn’t ask for it if there was another way…”

_“I know, Son. I’m just glad you came to me when you did; your financials could have plummeted had you taken a risk and expanded without a loan…”_

“I know, Father…” He sighed; now that he had finally gotten the hard part over with, he was perfectly content to spend a few minutes socializing with his father without having to worry about business. He looked up when he heard the soft clearing of a throat, and he noticed that Kagome was standing there, a questioning look on her face. He realized that she was silently asking if she could sit in his lap. Without even thinking twice, he nodded, opening an arm for her and allowing her to snuggle into his warmth with an ear to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. It was a simple—if a bit random—gesture, yet InuYasha found that it was just what the doctor ordered; he could feel his stress melting away with every breath Kagome took. Thoroughly settled and enjoying the calming affect her scent was having on him, he nearly missed his father’s next question.

_“So, InuYasha…your mother has been bugging me to ask you if you’ve been seeing anyone lately…”_

InuYasha paused, feeling Kagome tense as well. He looked down and almost bumped noses with her as she tipped her head up and brushed her bangs out of her eyes to look at him. A question was hanging in the air between them, so obvious that an innocent bystander would be able to determine what they were thinking about. Finally, Kagome shrugged, her eyes sparkling as she leaned up and whispered in his ear, “Just tell him we’re dating…”

_“What was that?”_ Mr. Takahashi asked, and Kagome jumped; she was so stupid! If InuYasha had good hearing, then his father had to have had excellent hearing! _“InuYasha? I thought I heard a woman’s voice just now…”_ There was a slight pause, and the two of them could practically feel the sly smirk curling up the edges of the older man’s lips. _“InuYasha, you sly dog, you! Do you have a woman with you right now, even while we’re talking?”_ The tone of his voice left no room for interpretation; there was a certain intonation that was highly similar to, “That’s my boy!”

“Dad,” InuYasha almost whined, and Kagome giggled as his ears drooped and he pouted childishly.

_“I hear the lovely laugh of a woman! InuYasha, put her on the phone; I wish to speak with her.”_

“But…Papa…”

_“Don’t you ‘but Papa’ me, pup. Put her on.”_

Growling slightly, InuYasha shoved the phone at Kagome, grumbling something that sounded like, “He wants to talk to you.”

Kagome stared at the phone for a moment before pressing it to her ear. “H-hello?”

_“Well, there’s no need to sound so frightened, young lady. I won’t bite, though I can’t say the same for my son…”_

“Papa!”

Deep laughter filled the other end of the line as Kagome’s eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from joining in. InuYasha glared at the phone with malicious intent, and Kagome turned her back to him before he acted on his desire to break the object in two.

_“So…how should I address you, young lady?”_ Mr. Takahashi asked as the laughter died down to a deep chuckle in his throat.

“Oh, my name is Higurashi Kagome, Sir. I’m InuYasha’s…girlfriend…” She hoped he didn’t catch her stumble as she searched for the right word. It wasn’t easy to think of intelligent things to say when InuYasha’s hands were creeping along her waist and around to her stomach.

“Kagome,” he murmured, and she shivered as his warm breath fanned out over her ear, “why don’t you hang up the phone so I can show you how much worse my bite is than my bark?” She gulped as his claws toyed with the hem of her sweater.

_“Ah, Kagome…such a beautiful name for a, no doubt, beautiful woman. InuYasha is treating you well, I hope?”_ Mr. Takahashi asked, completely oblivious to what was happening on the other end of the phone.

“I’d say I’m treating you very well…but that can change if you don’t hang up the phone…” InuYasha growled, his voice so low, his father had no chance of hearing it. His hands migrated south, his fingers looping into her belt loops and giving them a sharp tug.

“InuYasha is treating me just fine, Takahashi-sama…more than fine, actually…he’s a complete gentleman…” Kagome stuttered, emitting a small gasp when InuYasha took her by surprise by softly cupping one of her breasts.

_“Yes, well, I raised him well. And, please, Kagome; call me Taisho. Takahashi-sama makes me feel old…”_

Kagome nodded her head vigorously, covering the receiver and letting out a quick moan as InuYasha kneaded her fleshy mound softly. Shooting a glare in his direction and trying to scoot away from him so she could finish the conversation she was having with Taisho, she ran into interference when he snaked an arm around her waist and anchored her back into his chest. “You’re not going anywhere, Sweet Pea,” he grumbled, tracing over her ear ever so lightly with the tip of his tongue. He had no idea what was going on with him; all he knew was that he needed her at this very moment, and nothing was going to stand in his way. Not even… “Kagome, hang up the phone.”

“No,” she shot back through gritted teeth, removing her hand from the speaker and addressing Taisho again. “I’m sorry, Sir. I was briefly distracted. What were we talking about?”

She could have sworn she heard him chuckle knowingly, but it was possible she was hearing things; she could only pay attention for so long before InuYasha’s wandering hands caused her train of thought to derail again. _“Why don’t the two of you come over tomorrow evening for dinner? InuYasha hasn’t visited home in a while, and his mother is positively dying to see him. And I’m sure she’ll want to meet you, as well.”_

“Mmmm…yeah…” Kagome mumbled as InuYasha nibbled on her neck, his hands running up and under her sweater and smoothing across her concave stomach. “Oh, I-I mean, yes, of course. We’ll be there.” At this, InuYasha paused, having missed what his father had said previously; he had been too distracted by the soft curves of the woman in his lap.

“Where will we be?” he asked, removing his hands from her body and craning his neck to look her in the face. “Kagome, _where_ will we be?”

“Oh, yes, Taisho. I understand...I’ll drag him there if I have to. Yes…okay, goodbye.” She smiled as she hung up the phone, then stood and straightened up her appearance.

InuYasha remained seated, his expression slightly disarray. “Kagome, what’s going on? What did he say to you? Where will you be dragging me?” he asked again, but she still didn’t answer. Instead, she set to stacking the empty plates on the tray and tidying up his desk—which was strewn with various papers and folders. “ _Kagome!_ ”

She jumped, but the sly smirk on her face gave her away. “Clear your schedule for tomorrow evening, InuYasha. I’m meeting your parents.” With that, she grabbed what was hers and took her leave of the office, leaving a disgruntled hanyou in her wake.

“Meeting my parents? What does she mean by…ah, dammit!”

***

“I hate you for this, I hope you know,” InuYasha mumbled as he trudged up the steps that led to his parents’ mansion. Kagome wasn’t even listening to him.

“Oh, wow! You didn’t tell me your parents lived in a mansion, InuYasha!” she murmured in awe, looking upon the large, granite building with the same fascination as a child would in a candy store.

“You never asked…” he muttered, but his comment—again—went unattended.

They walked up the remainder of the steps in companionable silence, InuYasha fuming over the underhanded trick Kagome had used to get him to go in the first place.

After their little fiasco in his office with his father, he realized that the mood was officially terminated; no loving for InuYasha that night. He followed after a rather giddy Kagome with hell on his heels and a scowl on his face.

“I am _not_ going to see my parents tomorrow!” he had shouted, but he only received a chuckle and a shake of the head from his counterpart.

“You said that you wanted me to meet your parents, InuYasha…now’s as good a time as any,” she had replied, dunking the dirty dishes into the sink and grabbing a dishtowel, “Now, would you help me by drying the dishes?”

Involuntarily, he reached out and grabbed the rag from her hands, all the while with a frown on his face. “I know what I said, but I thought we’d be inviting _them_ over _here_! I hate going to my parents’ house, Kagome; I don’t have anywhere to run and hide!”

She rolled her eyes, the smile still firmly placed on her face. “Oh, you’re overreacting. Stop acting like a child! I want to meet your parents; they sound…interesting…”

“Yeah, well, wait until they start asking about grandchildren! You’ll be singing a different tune then…” And the conversation ended there. They had finished washing the dishes and went to their separate rooms. It was a small conflict, but it could hardly be considered a fight.

And now, here they were; standing at his parents’ front door, him with a scowl on his face and her eyeing the brass knocker with gleeful wonder. As if to ask permission, she looked up at him with her big, beautiful eyes and fluttered her long lashes; it was as if she knew the exact thing to do to get him to say yes. “Go ahead,” he urged, a small smirk edging up the corners of his mouth as she reached out excitedly and clanked the knocker three times. Her scent radiated joy as she brought her hands in front of her and clasped them together, shivering slightly. “I told you to wear a coat…it’s freezing out here…” he whispered to her, reaching around her body to rub his hand up and down her bare arm. While he wasn’t at all opposed to her little black dress with the bowtie choker necklace and black, transparent-silk shawl, he couldn’t help but worry about her health. “You’ll catch a cold…”

At that precise moment, the door swung open to reveal a beautiful, older woman with long, black hair and nearly-violet eyes. She was smiling as she watched the young couple cuddle where they stood. “Welcome, you two! You’re right on time for dinner!” She ushered them into the mansion and shut the door behind them, then turned to address them again. “Oh, InuYasha! You cleaned up so nicely!” she gushed, tweaking one of his ears as her gaze perused his lean figure, which was adorning a white button-down shirt with the first two buttons undone (courtesy of Kagome) and a pair of dark wash jeans. “My baby has never looked so good!”

“Mama…” he mumbled, his cheeks flaming in embarrassment at his mother fawning over him. Clearing his throat and removing her hand from his ear, he hooked an arm around Kagome’s waist and brought her forward for his mother’s examination. “Mother, this is Kagome; I’m sure Father told you about her.”

The woman nodded. “He did, and I’m afraid he didn’t do her much justice! My darling, you are positively breathtaking! Such a gorgeous young woman!” she declared, taking Kagome’s hand and spinning her to catch her appearance from all angles. “How my baka of a son managed to snag such a beauty is beyond me…”

“Mother!”

“Oh, quit your griping, whelp! Your mother was right on the money; you are a baka,” Taisho stated as he made his way down the stairs, immaculately dressed in a gray, three-piece suit. Kagome almost did a double-take; she had been curious as to where InuYasha had gotten his definable looks from, seeing as his mother had black hair and dark eyes, but now, seeing Mr. Takahashi, she found her answer. The man could easily be considered InuYasha’s older brother rather than his father, with long, flowing, silver hair that nearly trailed behind him on the floor, and beautiful, expressive, amber eyes that matched his son’s. His features were decidedly young, and, now that she took a good look at her, so were Mrs. Takahashi’s as well. Curious…

“Hi, Dad,” InuYasha grumped, crossing his arms over his muscled chest as his father tussled his bangs.

“Good to see you, my boy!” the older man exclaimed, patting InuYasha on the back hard enough to sound like it hurt. It was then that Kagome noticed the fangs, claws, and pointed elf-like ears that Taisho was sporting, and she immediately put two and two together. _He’s responsible for InuYasha’s demon blood…and that means his mother must be human…_ Both of his parents were highly attractive, if she did say so herself, and now she could clearly see the family resemblance. _Is it a law that all demons have to have this air of sexiness about them?_

She snapped to attention when Mrs. Takahashi addressed her once more. “Well, Kagome, dear; I hope you like roast duck, because that’s what we’re having tonight.” She smiled disarmingly at her, and Kagome felt a certain amount of comfort in the woman’s presence.

“It sounds delicious, Mrs. Takahashi…”

“Oh, please! Just call me Izayoi, dear,” she said, hooking her arm with Kagome’s and walking her away from InuYasha’s side and into the dining room. She heard his low grunt of protest and listened as he stomped down the hallway after them, his father close in-tow. As they entered the dining room, Kagome’s mouth nearly hit the floor; the entire area was highly extravagant, to say the least. The table looked to be made of the finest polished wood money can buy, and it stretched as long as four regular-sized kitchen tables. Although there were only four of them, each place at the table was set as if more people were coming, and there were trays piled high with different assortments of meats, vegetables, and side dishes. In the center of the table was the carcass of a large duck, and everything smelled delicious as Izayoi led Kagome to her seat. “It all looks so wonderful, doesn’t it? I have to say, our chef outdid himself this time…”

Kagome could do no more than nod as she sat in the comfortable, cushioned seat she had been directed to. InuYasha sat on her left and to his father’s right, who was seated at the head of the table. Izayoi gracefully seated herself to the left of Taisho. A butler dressed in a crisp, black tuxedo walked up and briefly conversed with the two about dessert, giving InuYasha the perfect opportunity to talk to Kagome privately.

Leaning over and wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her into his side so his lips were mere centimeters away from her ear. “Now do you understand why I wanted them to come to my house? This place is way too fancy for my tastes…” he whispered, not being able to resist a quick swipe to her ear with his tongue, “…and while we’re here, we can’t sneak off to the kitchen under the guise of getting drinks and have some fun on the kitchen counter…”

At that, Kagome’s eyes widened, and she blushed softly as she placed a hand on his knee. “InuYasha…” she mumbled, knowing that he was the only one that could hear her at the moment, “…behave yourself…you’ll get what you want when we get home…” Neither of them noticed how she had referred to his condo as ‘home’. Squeezing his knee once, she pulled away from him and focused her gaze on the delectable foods placed in front of her. “It smells so good, Izayoi…” she declared, trying to keep herself from drooling.

InuYasha only barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes; for once, he wasn’t in the mood for eating food right now. He’d much rather be eating something that smelled much more enticing…

“Thank you, Kagome! Oh, you’re so sweet,” Izayoi enthused, her smile reaching new levels of happy. “Well, we shouldn’t just sit here smelling it! Dig in, everyone!”

***

Dinner passed by without much conflict, small talk being made every once in a while, but nothing monumental. As dessert was being placed on the table, InuYasha and his father got into a heated discussion regarding baseball that neither Kagome nor Izayoi wanted to get in the middle of. Excusing themselves from the table, they walked out of the room to the sound of InuYasha’s enraged shout, “Hayato Sakamoto is a _god_!”

Kagome giggled softly as Izayoi led her out onto the back patio overlooking the mansion’s vast expanse of greenery and gardens. She gasped, her eyes widening at how gorgeous the scenery was. “Oh, wow, Izayoi…it’s positively beautiful out here…”

“This is where InuYasha’s father proposed to me all those years ago…” Izayoi spoke softly, as if talking to a small child instead of a grown woman, “…and it is also where I’m hoping InuYasha will propose to that one special woman when he’s ready…”

Catching on quickly, Kagome turned to look Izayoi in the face, pink dusting her cheeks. “Izayoi…”

“I’m not saying it’ll be you…” she continued, as if Kagome hadn’t said anything. Her statement, for some reason, cut deep; Kagome didn’t know why, but she felt her heart sink at the older woman’s declaration, “…but I do _hope_ you’re that special someone he chooses to take into that garden…” Kagome’s eyes widened, and, unbidden, her heart began to sing with happiness at InuYasha’s mother’s acceptance. “I like you a lot, Kagome…you’re a breath of fresh air from the women InuYasha usually brings home, which, while they’re few and far between, pale in comparison to your pureness and radiance,” she went on, a far-off twinkle in her eyes as she looked out among the flowers and trees lining her property. “InuYasha might not see it yet, but you’re just what he’s been looking for…”

Silence reined control for the next couple of minutes, neither woman wanting to speak and ruin the magical moment. As the sun cast its final rays among the darkening land, twinkle-lights turned on, giving the garden a beautiful, ethereal glow about it. Kagome couldn’t even define how natural this moment felt; sitting with InuYasha’s mother, conveying without saying a single word, comforting without doing anything at all…it was all so familiar...so soothing...

“Kagome? Izayoi? What are you two doing out here in the cold?” Taisho’s deep, booming voice snapped them out of their silent musings, and Kagome noticed rather quickly that it was in fact a tad chilly with the lack of warmth from the sun’s rays. By the way Izayoi shivered slightly beside her, she had a feeling the older woman suddenly realized the low temperature, too.

“Kagome! I told you it was freezing and you should have worn a jacket!” InuYasha stated worriedly, coming up beside her and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, “What am I going to do if you get sick?” He pulled her up with an arm wrapped securely around her waist, engulfing her in a warm embrace and shaking his head as she sneezed. “Baka…come on, let’s go inside…”

As the two of them entered the house again, Taisho walked over to his wife and placed a blanket over her as well. “He really loves her, doesn’t he?” he mused as he sat down beside his wife and allowed her to snuggle into his side.

Izayoi nodded. “And she him, my love…I have a feeling that, before this year is through, we’ll have ourselves a daughter-in-law…” Taisho chuckled, kissing the mother of his son on the forehead.

“I have a feeling that you’re right…”


	3. New Year, New Outlook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some pretty explicit sexual content, folks, so if that squicks ya, please Return to Start and Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.
> 
> But if you can dig it, please, enjoy!
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> Ms. Take

The car ride home was virtually silent; InuYasha wasn’t very much in the mood for talking at the moment, and Kagome was lost in her thoughts.

_Izayoi said she hopes I’m the one that InuYasha will take as his bride…why would she say such a thing? We only just met tonight, and, although she doesn’t know it, InuYasha and I haven’t known each other for more than two days!_ She glared out the window, trying to figure out what she had missed. Sure, she was attracted to InuYasha, and by the way he couldn’t keep his hands off of her, she was positive he was attracted to her, too. Attraction didn’t mean love, though; she didn’t love InuYasha, did she? _No, no, no…I can’t love him…this is just an arrangement, nothing more, nothing less! I can’t get too attached to a man I barely know!_

Sighing at her turbulent thoughts, she finally took notice of her surroundings and found that they were pulling into InuYasha’s driveway. She also realized that it was snowing, something that must have taken place while she was zoning out. Just the sight of the wonderful little white flurries floating to the ground made Kagome forget about everything she was just thinking and hop out of the InuYasha’s car to stare up at the sky.

InuYasha quirked an eyebrow at her, but didn’t question her actions as he exited the vehicle as well and walked over to where she was standing. His mother had obviously said something to her while they were alone that was causing her trouble, and it was irritating as hell to think that something was bothering her and she wouldn’t tell him; however, he didn’t want to set her off by prying. If he knew anything about her, he knew that she’d come to him on her own; that was the one thing he could be sure of, at least.

Standing with his hands in his pockets a little ways behind her, he also looked up at the dark clouds hovering overhead and dropping white snowflakes down to the earth below. He was quite exhausted; a night spent arguing with his father usually tended to wear him out. He was almost certain Kagome was at least a little tired, if the cavernous yawn that escaped her mouth at that moment was any indication. “Hey…” he said softly, reaching out and dusting the snowflakes out of her hair. After much decision, she had worn it down for the evening, much to his appreciation; he loved that he was able to run his fingers through her long, wavy, waist-length locks. “Let’s go inside…you’re still not wearing much, and I don’t want you getting sick…” Kagome only nodded, a small smile of gratitude curling her luscious lips as he led her inside.

Once they were safely encased in the warmth of his condo, InuYasha lifted the blanket from her shoulders and threw it on the sofa, followed quickly by his own jacket. He grabbed onto her hands to find that they were as cold as ice, and he made an unsatisfied grunt at the temperature difference between their two hands. He directed her into his bedroom and sat her on his bed, ignoring the connotations of the action in favor of grabbing hand warmers from his dresser top and placing them in her hands. “Hold these…they’ll keep your hands nice and warm…” he stated simply before heading into his bathroom and turning on the light.

“InuYasha…” Kagome began after what felt like an eternity of watching him brush his teeth and wash his face. He jumped slightly, as if he had forgotten she was there, and turned to face her.

“What is it, Kagome?” he asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft as he set to unbuttoning his shirt.

 

She looked down at the warm objects in her hands, working up the courage to tell him what she needed to tell him. After a few seconds of collecting herself, she looked back up to see he was finishing unfastening the last button on his top. To her surprise—and his—she didn’t blush at the sight of his bare chest. “Your mom and I got to talking on your back patio tonight…” she started, watching as he produced a comb from his bathroom sink top and tried to work it through the tangles in his long hair, “Oh, you’re hopeless! Let me help you,” she laughed, grabbing the comb from him and moving onto her knees and away from the edge of the bed. Patting the mattress in front of her, she urged him to sit with his back to her as she set down the hand warmers and worked on straightening out his unruly hair.

A while passed by like that, her gently combing through his hair while he nearly dozed off at the soft strokes. He almost lost it when she lightly brushed the fur on his ears, and a purr started unbidden deep within his chest at her ministrations. He had to keep her talking for fear of him falling asleep in her lap. “You and my mom were talking on the patio, and then…” he goaded, his mind turning to mush when she abandoned the comb in favor of stroking his ears with her fingers.

“Well…she told me that I…that I’m different…from the women you’re usually seen with…” The tone of her voice left no room for doubt; she was unsure if it was a good thing that she was an alleged ‘breath of fresh air’.

InuYasha fought to keep his eyes open as her magical digits worked their way down his scalp to his shoulders, where she kneaded the tense muscles with gentle force. “Did she, now? Well…I’d say she’s about right…you’re nothing like the women I’ve been with in the past…” She stopped massaging, her hands hovering over his shoulders as her brain registered that last statement and immediately took it the wrong way. Realizing he had said the wrong thing, InuYasha hurried to correct it so as not to hurt her feelings. “That is to say, you aren’t like them in that you’re sensitive, smart, kind, and naturally beautiful.” He turned his head to look at her and his heart nearly shattered in two. He could smell the saline from her unshed tears, and he didn’t like it one bit, but there was a soft smile on her face, most likely due to his hasty explanation. Sighing, he leaned forward to kiss her neck softly. “I haven’t exactly had the best track record with women, Kagome; you have to understand, not a lot of women are attracted to a disgusting half breed…”

“InuYasha Takahashi, you will not speak another word if you know what’s good for you,” Kagome ordered sternly, cupping his face in both hands and looking him in the eyes. “You listen to me: whoever judges you just because you’re a half-demon is a jackass. Do you hear me? If they won’t take the time to get to know you, and to understand that you’re a caring, witty, unbelievably attractive man, then they’re not worth the time of day. And I don’t ever want to hear the words ‘disgusting half breed’ spoken from your mouth again, you got that? I—” but she couldn’t say anymore because she quite suddenly found herself anchored to a strong body by two equally strong arms, and a pair of lips were pressed urgently to hers. The kiss was quick and hard, and it conveyed the message InuYasha wanted it to. When he pulled away, he looked up to find Kagome’s eyes glazed over and her mouth open, like she was still trying to wrap her head around what just happened. “What—”

“I think you’ve made your point, Kagome. Now it’s my turn,” he murmured, shifting so she was straddling his lap, “The women that I’ve dated in the past were, to put it simply, bitches. They didn’t care about anything more than the money that was to my name and the sex…they were nothing like you. You’re so accepting and sweet and…natural. Everything about you is just so…natural…” He nuzzled at her clavicle with his nose, enjoying the way her pulse raced at the action. “You’re so different…in a good way…do you understand what my mother was saying now?”

He looked up into her eyes and could have died on the spot at what he saw swimming in the watery, blue depths: acceptance. Wonderful, uncensored acceptance in its purest form. Acceptance that he hadn’t felt with a single human soul minus his family. He didn’t dare move a muscle, didn’t dare blink for fear that if he did, he would find that he had imagined the entire thing. As he simply continued to stare at her, Kagome smiled. It was a true smile that spoke of happiness and utter peace.

At that moment, Kagome came to a conclusion; she had to kiss him now or risk going into cardiac arrest. Bringing her hands up to cup his face between them, she leaned down, watching as his eyes slowly slid down and closed, anticipating the contact. His mouth was partially open, and she could practically taste the spiciness of his toothpaste on his breath as she finally made contact. The kiss this time was slow and unhurried, nothing like the chaste, fiery one they had shared just moments earlier. This time, they took their time, tongues slowly unfurling and tangling together before delving into uncharted territory and searching for buried treasure.

InuYasha growled when Kagome’s tongue lightly traced his fangs, and Kagome felt a certain amount of excitement in knowing that she could arouse such a reaction out of him with such a simple gesture. As the kiss became more heated and passionate, Kagome’s hands migrated from his face to his hair, brushing through the soft tendrils before trailing up to lightly scratch at his ears. InuYasha returned the favor by cupping the back of her head and bringing her down harder against his mouth, utilizing the gasp that escaped her parted lips as a means of entry. He was growling incessantly now, the sound vibrating against Kagome’s chest and making her blush. He pulled away when breathing became mandatory, his golden eyes darkened considerably.

“Kagome…” he all but growled, and she knew by the tone of his voice that he was asking permission; permission to adore her body like she hoped he adored her in total, permission to kiss parts of her body other than her mouth, permission to fill her and complete her. All she could do was nod her head as his hands traveled down her slender frame to her hips. He smirked at her, leaning up to partake of her lips again as he moved her hips to grind against his own, knowing full well that she could feel his erection through his pants. “See what you do to me?” he panted, using her moment of distraction as a grand opportunity to unzip her dress.

“InuYasha…” Kagome whimpered, and he looked up into her eyes as he slowly, almost torturously slid the dress down her slender frame, “…hurry…”

He chuckled at her rambunctiousness, then shook his head. “Patience, koi…we have all night…” and with that, the dress was tugged to her waist, allowing him a glimpse of bra-clad, womanly flesh. He raised an eyebrow at the lacy black garment, but didn’t question it. Instead, he brought up his hand, claws poised to cut through the small space between the cups.

“No! InuYasha! I didn’t pack a lot of these!” Kagome quickly undid the lace menace and threw it on the ground, all the while grumbling about hypocrisy when it comes to patience. When her attention was once again focused on the hanyou beneath her, she found that he was more focused on a…rounder portion of her body. Focused was an understatement, actually; he was blatantly staring at her breasts, his cognac eyes darkening to rustic amber with lust and want. “You can…you can touch them, you know…” she stated shyly, fighting back the blush that she knew wanted to make itself known on her face.

InuYasha snapped out of his trance at the sound of her voice; her breasts were just so…perfect. How could he _not_ spend a few moments silently worshiping them; thanking the Kami for the wonderful creation that was those lovely, round orbs? They were on the larger side and firm and just the right size to fit in the palm of his hand, and they were completely and totally Kagome; there was nothing fake about them. Reaching out to cup them in his hands, he found that they were as soft as he had imagined. He couldn’t help wondering what they would feel like under his tongue.

Putting his thoughts into action, he leaned forward and gently ran his tongue from her collarbone down to the valley between her breasts. Kagome squealed at the warm wetness running over her skin, and her sounds of pleasure only fueled him more. Moving to the right, he swirled his tongue around the hardening peak of her nipple, teasing it with light flicks and relishing the frustrated moan that escaped the beauty in his lap. Smirking, he caved and gave her what she wanted, suctioning his mouth around the pebbled bead.

Kagome cried out, her back arching involuntarily to feed more of herself to this wonderfully talented half-demon. When he grazed his fangs over her sensitive flesh, she nearly fainted; if he had this much of an effect on her with simple foreplay, she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for her when they actually got down to the nasty. Blushing at her hentai thoughts, her body seized again when he lightly bit down on her rosy peak, and she screamed his name to the heavens with unbridled want.

“I love the sound of my name coming from your lips…” he murmured against her skin, nibbling a path from one breast to the other and giving it the same, delectable treatment. By the time he had his fill, Kagome was writhing in his lap, her fingers finding purchase in the silky tresses of his sterling locks as she worked to rid herself fully of her dress. With InuYasha’s assistance, she managed to slide out of the black sheath, and it fell to the floor in an unorganized heap. The moment his eyes caught sight of her lacy, black thong, he felt an eyebrow rise again. “Kagome…I didn’t know you were a lace kind of girl…”

“Shut up,” she interrupted, growling impressively well for a human as she pushed his undone shirt off his shoulders and watched it fall to the bed behind him, leaving his tanned, toned upper body open for perusal. Kagome reached out and lightly traced over the hard muscles of his pectorals, then down to run her fingers over the six hills of his abdominals. “You _must_ work out…” she mumbled to herself, but his superior hearing picked it up nonetheless.

“Almost every day,” he said, flexing for emphasis and loving the way her scent spiked with approval.

“Mmm…me like…” she purred, running her hands back up and around his neck as she moved in for another kiss. He met her halfway, smirking into the passionate lip lock as his hands migrated south, toying with the hem of her panties before tearing them off with a very audible ripping sound. “InuYasha!” Kagome gasped, but couldn’t say more as he shoved his tongue into her mouth and whipped her slippery appendage into submission. When his fingers found her core, Kagome nearly fell out of his lap. “Jesus…” she whimpered against his lips as he experimentally pumped a finger inside of her.

“He can’t save you now…” InuYasha growled as he slid another finger inside, groaning at how tight she was. “Dammit, woman…you’re this wet for me?”

“Yes…for you…all for you…” Kagome moaned brokenly, her hips rising and falling as she felt his thumb press against her clit. “Oh my _God_!” she cried, feeling a powerful orgasm starting in the pit of her stomach. As a third finger entered the fray and InuYasha’s thumb began a light tick on her swollen button, Kagome decided that enough was enough. She wanted him to make her cum with his cock, not his fingers. She wanted her first orgasm in his presence to be mutual. So, with all of the willpower she possessed, she pulled away, earning herself a confused look from InuYasha. “Inu…I…I want you…I’m ready for you, now…” she said through pants, her eyes glazed over and her lips beautifully puffy from his kisses as she leaned over and nipped him on the nose. “Please…”

InuYasha looked at her for a moment in all her glory. She was as naked as the day she was born, her porcelain skin glowing with a light sheen of sweat and her hair tousled from where his hands had gripped it. Her mouth was bruised, and a pretty flush spread from her cheeks all the way down to the tops of her breasts. She was positively breathtaking, and he knew that he needed to finish this now to placate both their sanities. Nodding his head, he reached down and undid his trousers, pulling both them and his boxer shorts down until they were around his ankles, all the while not breaking eye contact with his beautiful Kagome. _**My** Kagome? No…she’s not mine…_

But for one night, he could pretend she was.

As he kicked his pants off, he moved them so he was leaning against the headboard, Kagome still straddling his lap oh-so enticingly. He could feel the heat from her core against his throbbing cock, feel the soft hair of her sex brush against his own silver pubic hair as she shifted in his lap so she was poised just above his erection, waiting to sink down on top of him and complete him. All she needed were those five words…

“Take what you want, Kagome,” he growled, grabbing hold of her hips and forcing her down on top of him. For a moment, everything was still; even their breathing stopped as she took him in all the way to the hilt. It took a minute for them to realize that this was in fact real; they were in fact doing this right now. And the _hell_ if it didn’t feel _fucking_ fantastic.

Kagome gasped and stiffened; she wasn’t some wet-behind-the-ears virgin who had never been with a man before—that ship had sailed one drunken night in college—but she had to admit that she’d be lying if she said InuYasha’s size was…manageable. “Just a second…I…just give me a second…” she whispered, trying to adjust to the massive girth of the organ firmly rooted inside of her.

InuYasha nodded, concern for her wellbeing winning over male pride at her needing to get used to his size. “Take as much time as you need, koi…I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured, cupping the back of her head and bringing her down for a soft, affectionate press of lips that left her gasping for more as he released her, leaning his head back against his headboard and smiling at her; it wasn’t a smirk or a small curl of the lips, either. It was a true smile, and its brilliance made Kagome’s heart sing. Smiling back, she experimentally shifted her weight, groaning at the pleasurable effect it had on her. Bracing her hands on the bed on either side of his hips, she slowly raised herself up just to let herself go crashing right back down. She repeated these motions a few times, her eyes wanting to roll into the back of her head at how amazing it felt; his dick was hitting all the right spots.

Sweat beaded on InuYasha’s forehead as he resisted the urge to take a firmer hold on her hips and ram into her from underneath; he wanted her to feel the amazing power that came with dominance, and if that meant playing the willing submissive, then so be it! Growling, he flexed his hands on her hips, his claws scraping against the soft skin and causing Kagome to pause.

For some unknown reason, that little pinprick of pain felt really, really good. Looking up at InuYasha, she caught the evil smirk that curled up the corners of his mouth. Before she could say anything else, he leaned over and pressed his lips against her throat, urging her to keep moving by lifting her hips with his hands and dropping her back down. With him in control now, they moved at a faster pace, and Kagome was definitely _not_ complaining. The friction of him inside her gave her great pleasure, but it was nothing compared to how she felt when he unfurled his fangs and bit into her neck, not enough to break skin, but just enough to leave a mark.

“Oh my - InuYasha!” she cried, her nails digging into his shoulders. Her small frame was shaking with immense pleasure now, the feel of him masterfully working her into a frenzy proving to be too much.

“That’s it, Kagome…say my name…” he growled, and in a flash, he flipped them over; he needed to be on top for fear of losing control of his demon side. “Fucking…hell…” he ground out through gritted teeth as he thrust into her, his hands sinking into the bed on either side of her head and his claws snagging on the comforter. 

Kagome was wailing by now, her hips coming up to meet his and her hands fisting her own hair. Her cries of passion mixed with InuYasha’s feral, animalistic growls, and the room smelled of them as he snarled, baring sharp fangs. If Kagome had been paying greater attention, she would have noticed the faint purple stripes creating a jagged path across both of his cheeks, and his golden eyes were tinted with the smallest bit of scarlet. However, as it was, Kagome wouldn’t have noticed if the third World War broke out just outside InuYasha’s condo; her eyes were scrunched closed as she focused solely on the pleasure his rolling hips and deep growls were causing her. 

InuYasha was just as far gone as she was, his head leaning against her sternum as he looked down and watched as she took him into her body. His hands slid underneath her body, forcing her back to arch and making him growl in appreciation; her body truly was a work of art. Grabbing hold of one of her hands and untangling it from her hair, he pulled it down to where he was furiously ramming into her and pressed her fingers against her clit. “You know what to do,” he said, his voice hoarse and deep. Kagome’s eyes opened, and for the first time, she noticed his altering appearance. 

She knew she should have been frightened, but, for some reason, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Though he looked slightly different, he was still the sweet InuYasha she knew. While she didn’t know much about demons, what she did know was that, as a woman, she must always submit for fear of confrontation. So, without great difficulty, she turned her head to the side, exposing her throat in a highly submissive move. All at once, InuYasha stopped thrusting, his eyes trained to the delicate, pale skin of her neck. He leaned down and sniffed at it, the scent sweet and inviting in his nostrils as he buried his nose in the fragrant skin. Growling again, he went back to pleasing her, his tongue lapping at her throat. 

Kagome’s mind went blank as he delivered powerful thrusts that were fast bringing her to an orgasm she was sure she’d never forget. Doing as he told her, she started moving her fingers against her clit, and she nearly fainted as a pleasurable shock flew through her body from the extremely sensitive bundle of nerves. “Oh, InuYasha…I’m…I’m gonna…” she couldn’t finish her sentence as her toes curled and white light flashed before her eyes, “I’m cumming!” she cried, her back arching like a bow and her fingers pressing down firmly over her cherry as he rammed into her with speed only possessed by a demon. He was forcing her to ride out her orgasm on his cock as she screamed and writhed beneath him, the hand that wasn’t furiously scrawling over her clit clenching in his hair and bringing his mouth down against her own. 

As they kissed passionately, InuYasha worked faster, urging her to cum a second time as the blunt head of his cock pressed against her g-spot. “Come on, koishii…cum for me…” he goaded, his voice still deep and gruff, but the violet markings marring his face fading just a bit. He leaned down and sucked lightly on her neck, leaving yet another mark as he sped up his thrusts for the final time, feeling her walls clench around him as his cock kissed her cervix. 

“Oh _God!_ I…” 

“Cum,” he growled, and she exploded just as his fangs pierced the skin of her neck again, this time drawing the faintest amount of blood. 

" _InuYasha!_ " 

Kagome shook with the force of her second orgasm, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she wailed her release. InuYasha let himself go just seconds after she did, and the feel of his warm seed rushing through her body immediately sent Kagome into a third orgasm. 

After the shaking subsided and InuYasha slid his fangs out of her neck, he collapsed on top of her, being sure to keep most of his weight off of her to avoid crushing her. They stayed like that for a while, Kagome brushing her fingers through InuYasha’s hair as he rested his head against her chest, both of them panting. 

Finally, when their breathing regulated, InuYasha gently pulled out of Kagome’s body, not missing the way she whimpered in protest; it felt so good to be connected on such an intimate level, neither of them wanted to end it. Moving over so he was lying beside her, he stretched his arms above his head until he heard a satisfying pop, and then turned to look at her again. She was stretching as well, her back arching like a contented cat as she cracked her back in several places and let out a relieved sigh. Plopping back down on her stomach, she slid her arms under the pillow underneath her head and turned to look at InuYasha. “Wow…” 

“Yeah…” he agreed, chuckling as she blushed slightly. Reaching under her, he pulled the comforter out from underneath them and yanked it up to just above her buttocks, baring her exposed back to his gaze; there was something about the silky whiteness of her skin that made him want to see a lot more of it. 

Sighing happily, he moved closer to her and kissed her forehead, placing a hand on her back and rubbing in soft, soothing circles with his claws. He could have sworn her heard her purring as she drifted off into a light, contented sleep, him following her after just a few more minutes of watching her light breathing… 

*** 

“Favorite color,” Kagome said, nuzzling InuYasha’s chest as he pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulders. 

Red. Favorite season?” 

“Spring. Favorite pastime?” 

InuYasha smirked. “Now it would be making love to you…” 

Kagome giggled, hitting him on the stomach. “Shut up.” They had both woken up a little less than an hour later feeling totally sated and absolutely comfortable; they were content to lay there in his bed for forever if they had a choice. As they snuggled closer together, they figured they might as well learn a few things about the other in case they were asked anything personal at Kagome’s family’s New Year’s Eve party. Thinking for a moment, Kagome finally turned and rested her chin on his chest, looking up into his beautiful, golden eyes. “Why do you own a bookstore?” 

He smiled, brushing her bangs from her face and enjoying her flushed features; there was something completely endearing about a well-sexed woman, especially one as beautiful as Kagome. “I like old things; historical things. Books are the best way to capture history and make it last forever…” Kagome nodded her understanding. “You know, I used to own a sword shop. Over a hundred katanas and different blades from the Feudal Era…I had to shut it down because business wasn’t that great, but I still have a couple of the swords up in my attic…” 

“That’s so interesting…I’ve always kind of been fascinated with history, myself…I work as a history teacher for Shikon Middle School…” Kagome smiled as she traced an invisible pattern on his right pectoral; they had so much in common already, he and she. “I agree that books are our greatest source of historical salvation; minus word of mouth, I mean.” 

“If you want a ‘word of mouth’ account of the past, just ask my father. He’s lived through two-thousand years of history…” Kagome stopped what she was doing and looked up at him, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in wonder. “What? He’s a demon; he has a longer lifespan than humans…” 

“Your father is two-thousand years old?” she asked incredulously. 

He nodded. “He’s celebrating his two-thousand-and-third this coming February.” 

“If he’s that old, then how does he look so…” she couldn’t find the word to describe how Taisho looked. 

InuYasha quirked an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on his handsome face. “Young?” She nodded. “Like stated previously, he’s a demon; he ages a lot slower than humans do…” 

“And your mother…” 

“The ways of demon mating is extremely complicated, Kagome. I don’t even fully understand it. All’s I know is that there’s a special bond that ties the two’s souls together and, therefore, my mother is able to share my father’s lifespan…” He shrugged; that was all his father had told him on the subject. 

Kagome nodded slowly, and then another thought occurred to her. “How old are you, InuYasha?” she asked, one immaculate eyebrow rising up beneath her bangs. 

“I’ll be two-hundred and thirteen this March,” he stated nonchalantly, picking at his claws. 

“Wow…that’s incredible…” Kagome gushed, sitting up and looking him over. He didn’t look two-hundred and thirteen…he looked as old as he said he was; he looked like a sturdy, healthy twenty-six-year-old. 

InuYasha only watched as Kagome examined his body, smiling softly at her curiosity and fascination. “Oi, come here,” he finally said, pulling her on top of him by her upper arms and bringing her down so her forehead rested on his own. He kissed her lips softly, knowing full well that anything more heated would be too much for her right now; she was probably still sore from earlier. After a few more minutes of simply sitting like that with her warm weight situated on his lap, he moved her so she could rest her head in the crook of his neck, her hands lain gently on his chest as he wrapped protective arms around her slender frame. The sound of each other’s breathing lulled them both back to sleep. 

_***_

The sun shining in through the window is what woke Kagome from her peaceful slumber the next morning. She yawned and stretched, fully aware of the strong arms embracing her around the waist as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Once she felt she was awake enough, she propped herself up on her forearms and nuzzled InuYasha’s nose. _He looks so peaceful when he sleeps…_ she mused as she gazed upon his slumbering visage. He was sexy when he was awake, looking at her with those gorgeous, amber eyes, but he was just so handsome when he was sleeping… 

Kagome felt something hard poking her in the thigh, and it snapped her out of her musings. Looking down, she took in the sight of his morning wood pressing against her, and she couldn’t help but feel the curiosity blooming. Sure, she had felt how large it was when he entered her last night, but she didn’t get a chance to see it in the light. 

Wriggling out of his grasp, she shifted until she was facing it, her knees on either side of his shoulders as she gazed in wonder at the organ that had caused her so much pleasure the night before. It was rather on the large side, and it wasn’t particularly lacking in width, either. She couldn’t help but be puzzled at how something of such an enormous girth fit inside her; it had to have been at least nine inches, if not, more! Her curiosity piqued and her interest increasing, she reached out and lightly encircled it with her hand. She could feel it throbbing as she gave an experimental tug, watching as it miraculously became harder and more rigid than before. 

Kagome glanced behind her, making sure InuYasha was still asleep before refocusing her attention on the cock in her hand. She ran a tentative finger up the side to the head, where she rubbed softly. InuYasha growled, but when she turned to look at him he still had his eyes closed. Sighing in relief, she went back to stroking up and down the hard rod, her eyes alight with fascination as precum pooled at the tip. It actually looked rather inviting, and she caught herself wondering what he would taste like. She had never performed fellatio before, but she had heard enough from her friends to know what she was doing if she so chose to do so. 

Leaning down, she let out her tongue and licked from the base to the tip of his cock, swirling her wet appendage around the head before repeating her action, this time tracing a bulging vein up the side. She heard him groan, and it only served in egging her on. Summoning her courage, she lapped up the precum at his tip before opening her mouth and taking him in. Obviously she wasn’t going to fit the entire thing in her mouth, so what she couldn’t take in, she stimulated with her hands. This time when InuYasha groaned, she was almost positive he was awake, for he reached down and grabbed firm hold of her hips, his claws scraping against the sensitive flesh and sending electric shocks straight to her core. She moaned against him, causing vibrations that made his hips jump involuntarily. 

“Kagome!” he gasped. He had actually woken up the moment she had touched him, but didn’t want to scare her away from what she was doing, so he kept quiet. However, he could only stay quiet for so long with her wonderful, wet mouth working him into frenzy. Growling when she paused in her ministrations, he decided she needed some encouragement. Placing both hands on her ass, he forced her lower half down onto his face, her fragrant pussy inches away from his starved mouth. Licking up her slit, he reveled in her muffled whimper against his cock. Just as he was ready to devour her, she started bobbing her head, adding the smallest amounts of suction as she went and causing his head to fall back against the pillows. “Fuck…Kagome…” he groaned, knowing he was going to be encouraging her to do this more often this week. 

As she gained confidence, Kagome wiggled her ass, urging InuYasha to continue where he left off. He nodded, leaning up and dipping his tongue in to sample her nectar. It was like sweet honey drizzling onto his tongue, and he couldn’t help the completely bestial growl that vibrated through his chest as he ate her out with reckless abandon. Finding her clit, he dragged it into his mouth, suctioning his lips around the tiny bud and flicking at it with his tongue. 

Kagome moaned around his dick, her hips bucking as InuYasha dealt his delicious torture. She decided a little retaliation was in order, and she reached down to roll his balls in her hands as she sped up her bobs, smirking at the strangled growl that emitted from her hanyou. _He’s not yours…_ a little voice in her head reminded her, but she ignored it in favor of listening to the barely-contained, animalistic and totally sexy sounds coming from InuYasha. 

Said hanyou was having a hard time hanging on to coherency. _Alright, pretty bitch…you wanna play dirty? We’ll play dirty…_ he thought evilly as he ran a finger from her ass to where he was working her abused bundle of nerves with his mouth. With a feral growl, he plunged two fingers into her sopping cunt, smirking maniacally when Kagome cried out, his cock still being furiously worked inside her oral orifice. It was a test of will, now; who was going to be the first one to let go, thus losing? Kagome wasn’t about to lose; she would have to do something to get him to go first, because with the way he was now nibbling at her clit with his fangs, she wasn’t going to last much longer. 

Swallowing her pride, she let him out of her mouth with an audible _pop!_ Smirking at his enraged snarl, she simply continued to work him with her hands as she kissed her way down to his heavy sac. With no more than a gasp from InuYasha, she took his tight balls into her mouth. If she knew very little about blowjobs, she knew even littler about hum jobs, but it seemed that her plan had worked for, with a muffled cry, she felt InuYasha’s cock throb before warm liquid shot out of the top. Moving quickly, Kagome caught every last drop on her tongue, not finding the salty liquid that appetizing, but not particularly disliking it, either. She drank from him until he was finished releasing, and when she was done, she sat back on her haunches with a grin equivalent to that of the cat that caught the canary. Wiping away whatever traces of his essence that were on her lips, she was poised to get off of him when he grabbed onto her hips and forced her back into contact with his mouth. 

She gasped in surprise, and it quickly turned into a needy moan as his long, glorious, demonic tongue lanced her core, flicking around inside her and speeding up her orgasm. He worked her with three fingers now, curling them to brush against her g-spot while he drew her clit back into his mouth, sucking just hard enough to cause her to writhe in pleasure. He held her up by the waist as he continued to devour her, and she couldn’t stop herself from groping her breasts and pinching her aching nipples as he bit down softly on her sensitive flesh, causing her body to erupt in shivers. “InuYasha…” she groaned, cumming all over his tongue, and he slurped up every last bit of her just as she had done to him. 

As she came down from her erotic high, she allowed him to shift her position and cuddle against his side as he nuzzled her bangs and kissed her forehead. “I’d say that’s a nice way to start out the day...” he whispered, nibbling her ear and making her giggle. 

“I’d say you’re right.” 

_***_

The week seemed to fly by after that. Kagome and InuYasha spent most of their time getting to know each other (and not just in the sexual way). Kagome, true to her word, visited him at the bookstore on a regular basis, bringing him a brownie fresh from the batch of them she had made for the party on Friday, or helping him organize records that needed to be taken care of for the expansion. And when the store closed at six they’d lock the door and have a little fun behind the checkout counter, on the checkout counter, and anywhere else in the vicinity. 

They went on a few dates; Kagome’s favorite had been when he took her to the outdoor skating rink in the middle of Central Park. She had fallen on her butt more times than she could count and probably bruised her tailbone, but he was always there to pick her up and brush off the dirt on her wounds, allowing her to hold onto him as they skated across the ice. He was so graceful, and the way in which he flawlessly skated around the rink turned Kagome on like no tomorrow. The night had ended with them rutting like rabbits during mating season by the fireside. He had also taken her to a fancy restaurant for dinner and had even gone to the trouble of renting a limousine for the occasion. He treated her like a princess that night—not that he hadn’t treated her like one for the past week now—and they spent yet another night making love underneath his cool, red sheets. 

Now judgment day was upon them; it was seven o’clock on New Year’s Eve, and Kagome was nervously brushing her hair in anticipation for the evening’s events. While she fully trusted InuYasha to keep their cover, she couldn’t help but worry over the trivial things. What if her mother asked him how she liked her coffee? Oh, wait, he already knew the answer to that; he had, on more than one occasion, brought her breakfast in bed—complete with a cup of coffee with sugar and cream—after a long night of love making had tired her out. Well, what if her grandfather asked her what his favorite band was? Wait…she knew that, too. He had told her he loved The Beatles one day while they were dusting the record cases in his store. Well, what if… 

“Kagome?” InuYasha asked as he walked into his room—their room, since the night they visited his parents. He watched with mild curiosity as she ran her comb through her hair for what was probably the hundredth time. Shaking his head in slight amusement, he reached down and confiscated the comb from her, placing it on his dresser top and grabbing her hand to kiss her knuckles. “Koi, calm down…everything is going to be fine…I’m confident that we can pull this off,” he murmured reassuringly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissing her on the head. “You don’t have to worry about a thing.” 

“InuYasha, what if—” 

“Ah-ah…you’re worrying again. Relax, baby…” His voice was soft and soothing as he rubbed the tense muscles in her shoulders, moving his hands down her body to try and get her totally relaxed. When she was nothing more than a limp figure leaning against him, he smirked and kissed her shoulder, hugging her around the waist. “There…isn’t that better?” She nodded, her eyelids drooping as his warm breath heated up her skin. He stood there for a few more minutes until he was sure she would be able to stand on her own again before moving so he was in front of her, looking into her twin pools of sapphire. “I’ve got something for you.” He wanted to laugh as her eyes lit up at the thought of receiving a present. “You said you wanted a ring, so I got you a ring,” and he opened the small box she hadn’t noticed he had been carrying to reveal a beautiful, diamond ring. It could hardly be considered modest, but it wasn’t flashy, either; it was just right. 

“Oh, InuYasha…it’s perfect,” Kagome breathed as he slid it onto her left ring finger. She held it under the lamp on his desk and watched as it sparkled brilliantly against the light. “This must have cost you a fortune…” she said after a moment of contemplation, preparing to take it off, “I can’t accept this…” 

He shook his head, pushing it back onto her finger and bringing it up to his lips to kiss it. “It was my grandmother’s; my grandfather made it for her over five thousand years ago…my father gave it to me a couple of years ago after her death…he said that she wanted me to give it to ‘the one’.” Everything was silent as Kagome ran over the connotations of what he said in her head. 

_‘The one’? He’s giving it to me because I forced him into an uncomfortable situation…now I **really** can’t accept this ring!_ She was poised to tell him so when she looked up into his eyes and caught a glimpse of something she probably shouldn’t have; he looked truly happy, his eyes relaying contentment and peacefulness and…another emotion that Kagome didn’t want to misinterpret at the time. She’d worry about it later. Now, however, the glaring red numbers on his alarm clock were telling her that it was almost seven thirty, which meant that they had just enough time to get to her mother’s house for the start of the party. InuYasha followed her gaze, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the time. 

“We should get going, ne?” He grabbed her scarlet, silk wrap; it matched perfectly with her beautiful, red dress. She had bought it yesterday while he was in a meeting with the contractors, and he couldn’t help but admire the way it hugged every curve and flattered her hourglass figure quite nicely; and it was his favorite color, no less. Wrapping the slip of fabric around her shoulders, he leaned in and whispered, “I love that color on you, by the way…” with an impish smirk as he gently licked from the exposed portion of her neck to her diamond-studded earlobe. 

She shuddered, looking at herself in the full-length mirror he had recently installed just for her on his closet door. She had to admit, she liked the color, as well. It was a deep burgundy, almost maroon, and it brought out the paleness of her skin and made it positively glow. The low collar was purely for InuYasha’s enjoyment, as the beaded bodice cupped her breasts in a most-alluring fashion and brought attention to the chandelier necklace her mother had given her for her birthday two years ago. She had chosen to leave her hair down—she knew how much InuYasha liked it down—and curled it loosely so it fell around her waist in slight ringlets. The dress was slit up one side, revealing more skin for her hanyou to caress, and her small feet adorned silver, peep-toed flats. All-in-all, she couldn’t deny that she looked—and felt—beautiful. And with InuYasha as her escort, she was sure she was going to be the envy of all her female relatives. 

He looked rather dashing this evening as well, she noted as she perused his suave figure through the mirror. His hair was neatly combed and pulled back into a low tail at the base of his neck; it shone like the brightest of silver starlight when he walked. His body was swathed in the finest black suit money could buy, and his tie was a deep red to match the color of her dress. His whole ensemble fit him perfectly, and as he turned to walk out of the room, Kagome found herself almost drooling at how the pants snugly fit against his sculpted backside quite perfectly. She couldn’t help but stare a few minutes longer after his handsome appearance; he looked positively good enough to eat! _I can’t wait until after the party when I can rip that damn suit off of him and…_ her thoughts trailed off into dirty, lusty images of the two of them entwined on his bed, grinding against each other like it was their job and calling out each other’s name in the heat of passion. 

InuYasha must have smelled her scent change, for he popped his head back in the room with a smug smirk on his face. “You know, I’d find that dress much more beautiful on the floor, but I’m sure your mother will want to see you in it before it becomes a throw rug for my bedroom.” His deep, gruff voice snapped Kagome out of her sex-filled musings, and she blushed at his taunt as she took his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her out of his condo and into his Porsche. _Oh man…this is going to be a long, uncomfortable night…_

_***_

Kagome was half right. While the night felt like it was dragging on—even though it had only been roughly an hour—it had been anything but uncomfortable. The moment that she and InuYasha arrived, they were greeted with open arms by her mother. Kagome actually found it quite comical that her mother’s first instinct was to pet his ears, and she nearly laughed at the exasperated expression on her “fiance’s” face when the older woman reached up and grabbed the furry appendages atop his head and gave them a firm rub. The next person to greet them was Souta, and Kagome feared the worst when the teenager walked up to the two of them with narrowed eyes. _Great…_ she thought, _he’s gonna pull the ‘protective brother’ act on poor InuYasha…_

However, with only a few statements spoken by said poor hanyou, Kagome found that her brother’s expression relayed absolute admiration and more than a little wonder. “You mean you fought bad demons and killed them with your bare hands over a hundred years ago?” 

“Better believe it, kid. How else do you think demons were dealt with back then?” InuYasha smirked; the kid’s fascination knew no bounds. 

“Cool! Kagome, why didn’t you tell me your boyfriend was so awesome?!” Souta questioned excitedly, looking at his sister for the first time since he approached them that night. Kagome rolled her eyes at her brother’s antics. 

“If you like him so much, why don’t you marry him, brat?” she teased, earning herself a middle finger from Souta as his response before he stalked away. Finally, they made it past the parlor and right into the path of Grandpa Higurashi. Kagome stiffened; this was the encounter she was most worried about. Though her grandfather trusted her, he wasn’t fond of demons in the slightest; being a priest for nearly seventy years had its lasting effects. She was afraid he’d say something that would make InuYasha uncomfortable, and she didn’t want that. Leaning further into his side as he wrapped an arm around her waist, she tried giving him comfort as her grandfather approached. “Good evening, Ojii-san.” 

The old man nodded, looking from Kagome to InuYasha, his brown eyes widening when he took notice of the dog ears atop his head. “You’re the demon that is courting my granddaughter, then?” he asked, his tone still pleasantly neutral. InuYasha nodded, but Kagome shook her head. 

“He’s not courting me, Grandpa. We’re getting married.” 

“I believe, in demon terms, it is called ‘mating’. Am I right, InuYasha?” Kagome was slightly surprised; she hadn’t thought the elderly man would have remembered the name of the demon that had allegedly ‘defiled his precious granddaughter’. 

InuYasha was less fazed; he was actually more curious as to why Kagome’s scent was radiating nervousness. Shaking his head slightly, he focused his attention back on Grandpa Higurashi. “Hai, sir. However, and with all due respect, it’s slightly different than human marriage; with demons, mates are for life, whereas humans can divorce their counterpart if they so choose.” He bowed his head respectfully, knowing full well he needed to get on this man’s good side if he wanted his blessing. _Why should I even care? It’s not like Kagome and I are **actually** going to get married…_ “I promise, sir, that I will respect Kagome and treat her like the princess she is. I will make her a happy bride, sir.” Silence followed his statement. 

Kagome simply stared at the half-demon, her sapphire eyes wide and rimming with tears. _He sounds so serious…like he means every word…_ She felt her heartbeat quicken in her ribcage, and she brought a hand up to still its rapid movements. _What’s going on? Why do I all of a sudden feel like this? Like…like I’m floating on Cloud Nine…like I actually want to…to be with him…for life…_ Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and she was having a hard time reining in her desire to reach over and kiss InuYasha so hard, he felt it in his toes. Gritting her teeth and trying desperately to make sense of things, she jumped when she felt a clawed hand move from her lower back to her hip, giving it a reassuring squeeze as they waited for her grandfather to say something. 

InuYasha’s thoughts mimicked Kagome’s, and he needed to bring her closer to use her scent as a calming device. He wasn’t at all sure why he had said all of that; he had to admit, for a fake marriage, he had gone a bit overboard. He shouldn’t have said anything; he should have just kept his big mouth shut. However, no matter what he should have done, he felt he _needed_ to say all of those things; they came out with great ease, and he actually found himself believing every word of it. _Kagome and I aren’t mates; we can barely even be considered a couple. This is only an arrangement…a favor…_ the words were bitter in his mind’s eye, and he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if maybe…maybe they made things between them real…as more than just an arrangement… 

“Very well,” Grandpa Higurashi finally said after what seemed like forever, and it snapped the two of them out of their silent musings, “You have my blessing,” and, to their great shock, he executed a low bow, his eyes downcast and his head inclined in the most honorable of ways to address a youkai lord. InuYasha’s eyes widened, and as his shock subsided, he bowed equally as low as a sign of utmost respect and gratitude. 

“Arigatou, sir,” he said in a hushed tone, and Kagome’s grandfather smiled, the first one they had seen all night. 

“Please, call me Grandfather. It seems only befitting.” Upon InuYasha’s nod, the old man reached up and plucked deftly at the hanyou’s ear, “And I should warn you, if you go back on your word and end up breaking my precious granddaughter’s heart, I will come after you and purify your ass—” 

“Grandpa!” Kagome shouted, swatting his hand away from InuYasha’s abused appendage, “I heard that mother is putting out the steamed salmon just for you; go get some before it’s all gone.” She turned the old man around and, with an apologetic look on her face meant for InuYasha, she led him toward the kitchen, all the while listening as her grandfather prattled on about how in his day, he couldn’t afford even a pound of steamed salmon, let alone a whole plateful… 

InuYasha chuckled as he watched his “fiance” shuffle away, a sparkle in his eyes at the unintentional sway of her backside. _This party will not end soon enough…_

He shook his head, making to turn around when a familiar and quite unexpected voice called out to him from the stairwell. 

“InuYasha?” 

He looked up to find a vision in white making her way down the stairs. 

“K-Kikyo?” 

“Kikyo!” another familiar voice called, and he turned back to find Kagome walking back up to him, a question arising in her eyes as she took in the expression on his face. “InuYasha?" 

_Shit…_

_***_

“Kikyo! I thought you were modeling in London!” Kagome finally said after a long pause. She was curious as to why InuYasha looked so shocked to see her older cousin, but excitement over said cousin’s returned won the emotional tug-of-war as she ran to greet the older woman. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she exclaimed, hugging Kikyo and laughing when she tugged on her hair. 

“Me too, Kaggie-chan! My manager gave me tonight off, so I quickly flew back just in time for the party! I couldn’t miss the Higurashi’s traditional New Year’s Eve party!” She tugged at Kagome’s hair again. “My, your hair has gotten long…” she trailed off as her gaze once again rested on the flabbergasted hanyou behind her beloved cousin. “What are you doing here, InuYasha?” she asked, moving away from Kagome and walking over to embrace him, “I haven’t seen you in so long…” 

InuYasha stiffened, looking over to Kagome as Kikyo wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled herself tightly against him. His “fiance” had her head cocked to one side, her eyes relaying her confusion as her cousin reached up and stroked a pointed ear. “Y-Yeah…it’s good to see you again, Kiks…” he finally muttered, patting her head before slipping out of her grasp. Before he could explain anything to Kagome, Kikyo beat him to it. 

She turned back to her and smiled. “InuYasha and I go way back, Kagome; isn’t that right, Yash? Remember all the fun we used to have? All the places we used to go?” She was now addressing InuYasha, her face alight with happiness as she remembered all of the good times. “In fact, we never really did break anything off…” 

“Kikyo, you left for London six months ago without even bothering to talk to me about it,” InuYasha interrupted, his face contorting in slight pain as her appearance brought back old pain, “Do you have any idea how much that hurt? I understand that your career comes first to you, but couldn’t you have even bothered to ask if I wanted to come along? I would have if you simply asked,” he finished lowly, now completely unaware of the woman standing a few feet away from him. 

Kagome’s heart broke at how sad he sounded; he almost sounded as if he… _Does he still have feelings for her?_

Her presence went unnoticed still as Kikyo turned and looked upon InuYasha’s hurt visage. “I wouldn’t have had time for dating or anything like that when I was on tour! I wanted to ask you—believe me, I did—but I was thinking about what was best for you. I didn’t want to have you go all the way to London with me just to be ignored or replaced by my work! InuYasha, I was simply doing what I thought would hurt the least!” 

“Yeah, well, if that was what hurt the least, maybe it was for the best that you ran off without even saying goodbye and left me all alone for six months! Now at least I know that I can survive without you!” he growled through gritted teeth, not noticing as a few of Kagome’s family members started crowding around them to see what all the fuss was about. Still, neither of them paid attention to Kagome, whose heart was breaking further with every passing second. 

_‘All alone’, huh? What the hell am I? Chopped liver?_ She fisted her hands on her hips and fought to keep the tears from falling. _If he’s really that torn up over Kikyo’s abandonment, then maybe he **does **still have feelings for her.****_ That revelation made her want to burst out into heart-wrenching sobs. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go; she and InuYasha were supposed to have a good time at the party and then go home so she could confess that she still wanted to stay with him, even though their whole relationship started due to an arrangement. He wasn’t supposed to meet up with the woman who obviously damaged his heart! He wasn’t supposed to reveal that her leaving him hurt him so much! He wasn’t supposed to be looking at her right now with saddened eyes that spoke of lost love and strong bonds that Kagome could never live up to! 

Her shoulders slumped and her eyes closed. _I’ve only known him for a week…Kikyo probably knew him for a hell of a lot longer, based on his reaction to seeing her tonight…_ Defeated and feeling completely lost and alone, Kagome did the only thing she could think of; she turned around and walked away, never looking back as she slid open the door and left the house completely. She’d leave the two of them alone, allow them to make up and start a healthy relationship again, and hopefully be able to get some sleep that night knowing she did the right thing. 

Without even noticing her absence, Kikyo and InuYasha continued their conversation. “InuYasha, don’t be so cruel! I know you don’t mean any of that!” Kikyo shouted, grabbing him by his shoulders and kissing his lips softly, but urgently. InuYasha’s eyes widened, and he pushed her away. He should have felt happy that his old love was back in his arms, kissing him the way he wanted her to since she left all those months ago. But something was wrong…he didn’t want her to be the one in his arms, anymore; he longed for the warmth of another female body… “InuYasha, what’s wrong? Why did you pull away?" Her cool, slightly-monotone voice was being replaced by the soft, soothing tone of his lovely Kagome that had him smiling against his will. It wasn’t until he felt tugging on his forelock that he snapped back to reality and found Kikyo standing in front of him with a serious expression on her pretty face. Us meeting here tonight was no mere coincidence…it was fate, InuYasha. The gods want us to be together again…” Kikyo reached up to cup his face, urging him to come back down for another kiss, but he refused, grabbing her hand and cradling it in his for a moment. 

“But it’s not the same, Kikyo…yeah, I loved you; it broke my heart when you left, and I always will love you…but…not in the same way as I love Kagome…I love her, Kikyo, and I can’t let her go; I _won’t_. You and I had something special, but your utter lack of trust in my faithfulness when you left proved to be our downfall; we can’t have what we used to have, and, as unfortunate as that is, we have to move on.” He kissed the back of her hand chivalrously before pulling away from her and looking into her eyes. “I love Kagome more than I think I’ve ever loved anyone, and I think…I think that she is my intended…us meeting here tonight wasn’t fate, Kikyo; I’m here right now because Kagome and I are getting married.” He brought her in for one last hug before stepping away from her entirely. “I will always love you, but I need Kagome; Kikyo, I'm _in_ love with her.” 

Kikyo was quiet for a moment, her face turned away from him, and for a second, he thought she was going to yell at him. Instead, she looked back at him with tears sparkling in her eyes. “You know, I’ve never heard you talk that way about anyone, Inu…not even me.” She patted his shoulder fondly, yet in an innocent manner. “I knew the second that I left that you would never take me back, but seeing you tonight gave me the inkling that you might, just possibly, reconsider…I guess I was wrong,” she smiled at him, a true smile that spoke of all of her beauty, inside and out, “…and I think that you and Kagome together make so much sense…more sense than you and I…treat her well, Inu, or I’ll be forced to fly all the way back from London and kick your sorry ass all the way to hell and back.” He chuckled lightly at the jibe. 

“I understand. Now…” he looked up to explain things to Kagome and confess that everything he had just said was true when his eyes met air. “Kagome?” He looked around, finding not his intended, but all of her relatives standing around him and Kikyo, eyebrows raised and questioning looks on their faces. “Where’s Kagome?” 

He felt pressure on his shoulder and glanced over to find the young kitsune he had met a week ago perched there, eyes wide and slightly watery. Kagome had mentioned that the Himura’s would be attending the party as well, so he wasn’t surprised by the kit’s appearance. He was more surprised by the expression on his face. “She left while you and Kikyo were arguing, InuYasha. I think she’s upset…her scent was so sad…” InuYasha stared at the pup for a moment before nodding. 

“Thanks, runt,” he stated fondly before placing the child down and walking swiftly to the door, ignoring the family members that tried to approach him to ask him what was going on. 

“Hey, InuYasha!” Shippo called before the hanyou left, and he turned to look at the youngster with slight impatience. “You’d better not hurt her feelings anymore, ‘cause I’ll have to rough you up if you do.” He smiled, baring tiny fangs, and InuYasha chuckled despite his suddenly sullen mood. 

“Duly noted, kiddo,” and he was gone, leaving a family of confused Higurashi’s in his wake. 

_***_

Kagome sniffled, wiping her nose on her bare arm as she sat down on the cool bench. The town was bustling around her, everyone preparing for the final countdown to the New Year. Cars were honking, buildings were lit up like Christmas trees, and snow was softly falling. Kagome looked around Central Park with teary eyes, refusing to let the salty water fall; she was far stronger than that. 

Sighing, she rubbed her arms in hopes that the friction would heat up her freezing skin; did she ever wish InuYasha was here with his arms wrapped securely around her, allowing her to burrow into his warmth… _No! Stop right there, Missy! You’ve got to stop thinking about that jerk! Besides…he’s probably holding Kikyo right now…_

She never thought ill of her cousin, and she couldn’t bring herself to bad mouth InuYasha, either. Curse her kindness to the seventh layer of hell! She erased all negative thoughts from her mind in favor of watching as people started to gather in the center of the town square, huddling together to keep warm and watch as a few minor singing artists performed on a makeshift stage made of trashcans and plywood. A sparkle of light caught her attention, and she looked down at the ring on her left hand. It was so beautiful…so endearing…and InuYasha had given it to her. 

That thought made her sick to her stomach. He had given her the special ring earlier that evening, making her think that he might actually return her feelings. How stupid she was. Shaking her head, she reached down and pulled the ring off of her finger, the tears finally flowing unbidden from her eyes. 

“I hope you’re not thinking of throwing that for the birds to take…” a familiar, gruff voice said from behind her, and she whipped her head around to take in the sight of InuYasha walking towards her, his hands in his pants’ pockets. “May I sit down?” he asked after a moment of silently standing next to her. She nodded, and he complied, seating himself just close enough for her to smell his spicy cologne. After yet another few minutes of silence, InuYasha finally found his voice. “Kagome, why the hell did you leave? Do you have any idea how worried I was?” It was true; he had followed her scent in almost a desperate fashion, not liking the sadness tainting her normally-perky, flowery smell. 

At his questions, Kagome looked up and glared at him, almost making him fall off the bench at the intensity of her sapphire eyes. “Why the hell do you think I left, InuYasha? I had to give you and Kikyo some private time to get ‘reacquainted’.” She put quotation marks around the word ‘reacquainted’, making sure he knew she was talking about more than just a handshake in the hallway. “I’m surprised it took you so little time…performance anxiety?” she spat, not being able to stop herself. She couldn’t believe how rude she was being; her normal demeanor did not include bitchiness, but it felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest and stomped into the dirt. 

InuYasha’s eyes widened, and his heart ached at how broken the woman before him looked; her insinuation as to what he and Kikyo had been doing in her absence was the only thing keeping him from encasing her in his arms and never letting go. “Listen here, Kagome; Kikyo and I didn’t do anything! We kissed, but after that—” 

“You kissed her?!” Kagome erupted, standing and looking down at him with fire in her eyes. “Okay, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to be so insensitive. Since you only kissed her, I guess I can forgive you…” she prattled on sarcastically, her voice so high, one would think she was going hysterical, “If you’re waiting for me to apologize for leaving the party, I’m not going to! Why should I apologize when I was giving you the space you needed to be with your old flame?! You know what?” she threw the ring in his lap, “Here! I’ll just march back to my house and tell my entire family the truth! I don’t care anymore, InuYasha! I just. Don’t. Care!” When people started staring, Kagome realized she had gone too far, and took a deep breath before looking back down at InuYasha; for some reason, he had the gall to look hurt by her words. Sighing, she took in a few more calming breaths before continuing on a softer note. “I’m sorry I roped you into this, InuYasha…I never should have done something so stupid. Well, I’m making amends; now, without me holding you back, you can go to London with Kikyo and live your life happy again.” She smiled a small, sad smile, “I didn’t mean all of the terrible things I said…I’m sorry for those, too…I was just a little angry…and a little hurt… 

“The truth is, even though I’ve only known you for a small amount of time, I…I love you, InuYasha. I’ve actually fallen in love with you in the week we’ve known each other.” She sounded shocked by her own confession, shaking her head and chuckling slightly. “It’s funny, isn’t it? To fall in love with someone you’ve barely known for a week…” she looked back into his eyes, her sapphire orbs serious, “…and, because I love you, I want you to be happy, even if it’s not with me. You should be with Kikyo.” He opened his mouth after she was silent for a while, and she knew he was poised to say something, but she cut him off before he could. “I’m not telling you all of this so you’ll change your mind and stay with me, because I would rather die than force you into something that won’t make you happy. I just…I just want you to know that you have my heart, and I don’t think I’ll be able to give it to anyone else…not even if I want to…” She looked down after that, toeing the cool, snow-covered earth and willing the tears to stop falling. 

When he realized she was finished talking, he hooked an index finger under her chin and forced her to look at him, no matter how much it hurt her. He had to look into her eyes, to know that she was speaking the utmost truth. He saw nothing in those beautiful, cerulean orbs but unbridled love and a twinge of sadness. Well, he’d just have to rectify that. 

“Kagome,” he said softly, urging her to keep her gaze on him as he brought a hand up and lightly ran his claws through her hair. The snowflakes that had landed in the onyx locks were made prominent by the dark hue of her tresses, and he couldn’t help but admire how truly beautiful this woman was, and what a truly lucky hanyou he was. “Kagome…I’m not going with Kikyo…” he finally said, and her eyes widened in disbelief at his statement, “Believe it, wench…while it’s true that I’ll always love her just a bit, she’s in the past; I can’t see a future with her if I truly think about it. You know who I do see when I think about my future?” She shook her head, making him smile at her naivete. “I see you, Kagome.” Kagome gasped, her eyes now impossibly wide as he took the opportunity to pull her closer to him until she was standing in between his spread legs and he was looking up at her with true, unadulterated love. “Kikyo kissed me after you left, and I realized something: I only want to be kissed by you, Kagome. I only want to feel you wrapped in my arms when I wake up every morning; I only want to see you when I come home from work. I want you to be the one to bear my pups, not Kikyo. Kagome, do you understand? I. Love. You.” He punctuated his statement by bringing her down for a long, loving kiss that spoke of all the strong emotions bouncing around between the two of them. Kagome whimpered, wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing him to pull her into his lap. The tears came back with a vengeance as they broke for air, and InuYasha reached up to wipe the offending water from her cheeks. “Don’t cry, Kagome…I hate to see you cry…” 

I- I can’t help it! Oh, InuYasha!” She moved in for another kiss, opening her mouth and allowing his tongue entrance. They kissed until breathing became a necessity, and InuYasha watched as his Kagome—yes, his Kagome—brushed the tears from her eyes and smiled at him. “What a couple of bakas we are, Inu…how are we going to explain this to everyone?” she asked, her tone filled with humor as she reached up to lightly stroke his left ear. 

He shrugged, allowing her to play with his ear as he nuzzled her neck. “I don’t see why we have to tell them anything,” he declared, then reached down and plucked the ring from where it had fallen on the ground when Kagome had settled in his lap. “What do you say you wear this for real, now?” Kagome stopped her ministrations and looked at him with surprised blue eyes. 

“Nani? InuYasha, what are you—” 

“Kagome Higurashi,” he continued as if she hadn’t said a thing, grabbing her left hand and sliding the ring on the finger, “Will you be mine, forever and always?” Not being able to respond vocally, she only nodded as she looked down at the diamond on her ring finger. There was no way she could be any happier. InuYasha took her hand and kissed it, much like he had done earlier that evening, before pulling her close until their mouths were a hair’s breadth apart. “I love you, Kagome Takahashi.” 

Kagome’s heart sang as he gave her his last name, the tears once more falling. “And I love you, my InuYasha.” They kissed as the clock stroke twelve, signifying a New Year, and a new beginning. 

_***_

And the next day, Kagome laid in bed, sniffling like it was her job and sneezing so hard, she was afraid she’d hurt something. 

“I told you that you would catch a cold if you didn’t wear a coat, Kagome…” her fiance—for real—chided as he stroked her back lovingly. 

“Shut up,” she muttered, her stuffy nose making talking quite difficult. Oh well…at least she had someone to take care of her now when she did stupid things. “I love you, InuYasha,” she mumbled as an afterthought before having another sneezing fit. 

InuYasha shook his head and chuckled. “I love you too, my Kagome." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't touch that dial! Let me know if you want a smutty epilogue! I wasn't considering keeping it - it seemed so unnecessary - but if enough people want it, who am I to disappoint?


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy Mother of Molasses! I forgot to upload the epilogue! Well, it's very VERY late, but here's some smut for all of my lovely kittens. It is unedited, but it's short, so it shouldn't be too rocky. Thank you for being patient with me!
> 
> Ciao, lovelies,
> 
> Your Mistress

Kagome sat at the piano with her eyes closed, her fingers lain gently over the keys as she took a deep breath.

Left hand: D octave. Right hand: D and F#.

As she played the chord, she opened her eyes and began to sing softly, not noticing as InuYasha walked into the room and leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes downcast as he listened to Kagome sing. Ever since they made their engagement real over two months ago, she had been fascinated with his music room. Having not shown her before their actual engagement due mostly to male pride, he was pleasantly surprised that she enjoyed being in the room so much. Hanging on the walls were framed posters of his favorite bands, and even some of Bach and Beethoven. A guitar sat against its stand in one corner of the room, and an amp rested beside it. A parlor grand piano took up most of the room, acting as the centerpiece. And right now, Kagome was in command of the keys, her fingers moving deftly across the ebony and ivory objects as she sang out to the familiar song.

“Tell me: does she look at you the way I do? Try to understand the words you say and the way you move? Does she get the same big rush when you go in for a hug and your cheeks brush? Tell me: am I crazy or is this more than a crush?” she sang softly, fingers plucking away and her fiancé going unnoticed as she put her heart into the song.

InuYasha decided it was time to make his presence known; he walked over to her and leaned down, placing his hands on either side of hers as she played. She didn’t stop, but he felt her stiffen slightly in shock, as he had surprised her. “Don’t stop playing…keep going,” he whispered as he pressed down on the keys as well, the notes he was playing working perfectly in sync with hers.

“Maybe I’m alone in this, but I find peace in solitude; knowing if I had but just one kiss this whole room would be glowing…we’d be glowing…we’d be glowing,” Kagome continued, smiling as InuYasha leaned further into her and added intricate chord progressions in the spots where she paused in the song.

As she entered the chorus again, she felt InuYasha’s lips on her shoulder, but she couldn’t turn to look at him for fear of missing important cues or keys. It seemed he didn’t have the same problem as she; he wasn’t even paying attention, yet his fingers magically worked the top and bottom halves of the piano like a concerto genius. Finally, Kagome brought the song to a close; it couldn’t have ended soon enough! “You’ve got me caught in all this mess…I guess we can blame it on the rain…” (1). As they played the final chord, her pressing down on the D octave and the F# and him adding a D minor chord to give the ending a little dissonance, the room fell into a peaceful silence, as if in the aftermath of the song they had just played.

“We make beautiful music together,” InuYasha murmured against her skin as he took hold of her hands and pulled her to standing.

Kagome smiled. “Yes, we do…I would never have pegged you as a piano kind of guy when we first met, you know…you’re better than me…” she declared as he led her around the back of the piano. She watched as he silently closed the lid on the top of the piano before turning back to her. Without a word, he lifted her to sit on it. “InuYasha—”

“I can teach you,” he said with a smirk, walking over to her and standing between her legs, “I can teach you a lot of things in time…” He leaned over and pressed his lips to the mark on her neck, the one that signified their bond. Technically, they were already mated, and a human wedding would not be necessary, seeing as how demon marriages were much stronger. However, he knew that Kagome wanted to do things traditionally, so he settled for a small wedding in April, to also honor the death of his grandmother who had given them the ring; the symbol of their undying love for one another. When she made that suggestion of her own accord (after he told her a little more about his grandmother), it led to an entire night of pleasuring her brains out, and they weren’t at all shocked when, the next week, she confessed that she had missed her period. After he scented her and confirmed their suspicions, he had been so happy that he went out and bought her a new dress, and he chuckled when she stated exasperatedly that “for a species that ages so slowly, you dog demons sure do work fast!”

At the turn in his thoughts, he looked down at her flat stomach. They had just found out about a week or so ago that she was with pup, and he had been the happiest hanyou alive since then. He knew he was doting on her, but he couldn’t help it; just to know that this beautiful, pure woman wanted to bear the child of a half-demon so willingly touched a special part of his soul that only Kagome could touch. Sighing contentedly, he sunk his fangs into her mark again, enjoying the way she whimpered in pained pleasure. “Wh—what else would you teach me?” she squeaked out in a high pitched voice, clenching her hands on his shoulders as he worked the T-shirt she had borrowed from him up the concave planes of her stomach.

He chuckled deeply, claws scraping against her sensitive skin as he dipped his hands past the hem of the shirt and toyed with the fabric of her bra. “I’ll teach you how to love and be loved…how to be cherished like the fine treasure you are…” he whispered lowly, lapping up the small droplets of blood from the mating mark before working his lips down her neck to her clavicle. “I’ll teach you how to be a good mother to our pups, and you’ll, in turn, teach me how to be a good father…” With a single claw, he ripped the T-shirt up the middle, his sharp talons snagging on her bra and taking it with the ruined shirt. Both articles of clothing fluttered to the floor in an unceremonious pile.

“You don’t need to be taught…you’ll be a great father…” Kagome gasped out, her head flying back as InuYasha bit down on the swell of her left breast—right over her heart—and left a mark that she knew would take a few days to heal.

“You think so?” InuYasha asked, though he was only halfheartedly in the conversation now; he was much more focused on the lovely, female flesh that he was quite enjoying putting his mark on.

Kagome nodded. “I know so…you’re so good with Shippo…I’m sure you’re going to be the best father to our children…” She sighed when he pulled a pebble-hard nipple into his mouth, sucking lightly and nibbling gently; he knew they would get larger and more sensitive with pregnancy, and he couldn’t wait. He could spend hours playing with her soft bosom if he so chose. “If it’s a girl, you’ll treat her like a little princess…just like you treat me,” Kagome continued, running her fingers through his hair and lightly rubbing his ears, “And if it’s a boy, you’ll teach him everything there is to know about being a demon, and you’ll be a great role model for him…teach him about the birds and the bees…” she trailed off as he switched breasts and gave the same attention to her right one, fingering the neglected one lovingly.

“Trust me, Kagome; if there’s one thing I can teach him, it’s about the birds and the bees,” he punctuated this statement by trailing his other hand down between her legs. She hadn’t bothered to wear any pants, seeing as his T-shirt covered a great deal more of her than even one of her skirts probably would, so the only barrier between his roaming digits and her sacred flesh was her satin panties. Running a claw from the top of her mound to the bottom, he relished in her needy moan; she was well past ready for him. Shifting her underwear to the side, he slid his knuckle between her sopping lips. Kagome cried out as he swiftly slipped a finger inside, pumping softly and keeping in mind not to harm her with his claws. She thrust her hips against his hand, frustrated tears forming in her eyes when he didn’t thrust back. “What’s wrong, baby? Is it not satisfying enough?” She shook her head vehemently, trying once again to get him to stimulate her, but to no avail. “Tell me what it is you want, Kagome,” he finally demanded, watching as she glared up at him, sparks shooting from her expressive eyes.

“I want to cum,” she ground out through gritted teeth, only slightly ashamed at having to practically beg for it; however, it was a game InuYasha played with her sometimes. He was probably just still sore about the one time he took it anally while fucking her and cried out like a bitch in heat, the macho bastard. Grinning maliciously, Kagome leaned up and took a koinu ear in her mouth, licking it and sucking it like she knew he liked. A positively bestial growl formed deep within InuYasha’s chest at her attentions to his sensitive ears, but he wasn’t going to be deterred that easily.

“Very well; your wish is my command,” and he added another finger into her snug passage, pumping her slowly, torturously so, and smirked when she bit down on his ear to muffle her cry of lusty fulfillment. “Is it good, koishii? Do you like it when I fuck you with my fingers?” he asked, his voice condescending as Kagome practically whined like an inu-bitch. He thrust a third finger inside of her, his thumb ticking methodically against her swollen clit, but his pace was still slow and languorous; this wasn’t fair!

Kagome swallowed the cry of passion that wanted to force its way past her vocal chords and focused long enough for a single, coherent sentence: “I like it better when you fuck me with your cock,” and she was gone again as his fingers thrust deeply within her, hitting her g-spot and making her toes curl in delicious torture.

InuYasha chuckled, smirking like a jackass as he removed his fingers and held them to her lips, groaning when she slowly took the digits into her mouth and sucked, cleaning off every last drop of herself and even going so far as to lick up and down his long, sharp talons. When she was finished, InuYasha pulled his fingers from her mouth and reached down to unzip his jeans. Kagome whined in disapproval when he didn’t remove his top, and she set to doing it herself before a feral snarl stopped her in her tracks. “Don’t you dare,” he growled, placing a large hand on her back and leaning her back so he could position himself at her entrance. Without preamble, he sunk into her, both of them crying out the other’s name as familiar flesh met familiar flesh. While Kagome took a moment to adjust to his size—she always had to take a few seconds, every time—InuYasha pulled his shirt off over his head, giving her the exposed skin she so desired.

When he began moving, it was at a luxuriously slow pace, and Kagome could feel every inch of him as he slid in and out of her clenching body. She leaned back on her hands, her head dipping back to rest between her shoulder blades as he sped up his thrusts ever so slightly. It wasn’t a hard fucking like they so often indulged in; this time, there were soft, pleasurable sighs and sweet, quietly-spoken terms of endearment as he leaned his head down to rest in the crook of her neck, sucking on her mating mark and causing Kagome’s fingers to curl on the piano’s surface. “Inu…” she whined, thrusting her hips to meet his while he placed his hands on the piano top either side of her hips, giving him more leverage to thrust deeper and harder. “Oh…”

InuYasha groaned, nibbling on her neck with his fangs and enjoying the aroused spike in her scent; she was close. Bringing a clawed hand down in between their bodies, he pressed down on her clit, circling the pleasure center with a claw before rubbing over it slowly, making her feel it in her toes—which were rapidly curling as her climax approached.

The sound of him panting in her ear, his pleasurable growls and grunts of lusty need, mixed with the way his cock was hitting her g-spot and his fingers were pinching down on her sensitive button was all too much for her. With a guttural groan, she came, hard. White spots danced before her eyes as the force of her orgasm caused her to quake with unbridled passion and fulfillment. However, knowing her hanyou, he was far from done.

In one swift move, he wrapped her legs around his trim waist and picked her up, carrying her around to the front side of the piano before placing her on her feet and turning her so her back was to him. The feel of her inner walls clamping down on him as she rode out her orgasm was making him crazy with the need for release, but he couldn’t let go; not until she was in the position of ultimate submission. “Who is your Alpha, Kagome?” he growled in her ear as he thrust back inside her with a sharp jerk of his hips, causing her to bite her bottom lip to keep herself from cursing to the gods in utter satiation.

“You are, my InuYasha,” she groaned, her hands banging down on the keys as she tried to work past the lust-induced haze settling over her brain. “Fuck me, Inu…oh!” she called out when he reached around to fondle a breast, his deep, throaty growls vibrating against her back as he pressed his chest to her, molding his body to her in the most intimate of ways.

His thrusts gained in speed, and he could feel the twinge in his stomach, telling him he wasn’t far from release. He needed to speed her up; like hell was he going to cum before she did. Gritting his teeth, he reached down to play with her button again, and her body drew tight as a bowstring. “Inu...InuYasha!” she gasped, and her orgasm took her by surprise this time, causing her body to erupt in shivers. She let out a hoarse cry as she felt him empty himself into her with a pleased growl, his claws imbedding themselves in her hips as he tried to stabilize himself as the mind-blowing finish took him over.

They stayed like that for a while, even after the final tremors of their mutual orgasm subsided. He lay draped over her, rubbing her stomach with the tips of his claws and listening as she purred her contentment. After what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only a few minutes, he pulled out of her and zipped himself back into his pants before pulling out the piano bench and sitting on it, cuddling her on his lap and running his fingers through her hair as they both relished in the aftershocks of a good sexing.

“I’m going to take good care of you and our pup, Kagome. I’m going to be the best husband/mate/father I can be,” InuYasha finally said after a while, turning her head to look at him as he anchored her to his chest. “I love you, Kagome Takahashi.”

She smiled, truly content with what Fate had decided for her. “And I love you, my InuYasha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) - Song by He Is We, titled "Blame It on the Rain"


End file.
